Biliary atresia is a progressive neonatal cholangiopathy that leads to liver failure. Characterized by inflammation-mediated liver injury, the immune system plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of this disease. Though several types of immune cells and mediators have been implicated in animal models of biliary atresia, emerging literature reflects the complex interplay of components of the immune response that contributes to disease progression in humans. Novel therapies targeting the immune system are needed to mitigate the devastating effects of biliary atresia. This review highlights the current literature on the components of the immune system that have been in implicated in biliary atresia and the rich interplay between the major arms of the immune system- innate and adaptive immunity- to cause the highly morbid consequences of this disease.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
---|---|
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.sempedsurg.2025.151474 | DOI Listing |
Clin Immunol
January 2025
Department of Pediatric Surgery, Children's Hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Birth Defect, and Key Laboratory of Neonatal Disease, Ministry of Health, Shanghai 201102, China. Electronic address:
The imbalance between Tregs and proinflammatory Th17 cells in children with biliary atresia (BA) causes immune damage to cholangiocytes. Dimethyl fumarate (DMF), an immunomodulatory drug, regulates the Treg/Th17 balance in diseases like multiple sclerosis (MS). This study explores DMF's effect on Treg/Th17 balance in BA and its potential mechanism.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSemin Pediatr Surg
January 2025
Swiss Pediatric Liver Center, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland; Division of Child and Adolescent Surgery, Department of Pediatrics, Gynecology, and Obstetrics, Geneva University Hospitals, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
Cholangitis, defined as the inflammation of the bile ducts, is the most frequent complication after Kasai hepatoportoenterostomy in patients with biliary atresia (BA). This review seeks to provide a comprehensive synthesis of current knowledge on diagnosing and managing BA-associated cholangitis while identifying gaps in the existing literature. A scoping literature review was conducted to gather global insights into the definition, evaluation, and management of post-Kasai cholangitis, illustrated through data from the Swiss Biliary Atresia Registry (SBAR).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSemin Pediatr Surg
January 2025
Department of Surgery, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China; Dr Li Dak-Sum Research Centre, The University of Hong Kong - Karolinska Institutet Collaboration in Regenerative Medicine, Hong Kong, China. Electronic address:
Biliary atresia (BA) is a severe neonatal cholestatic disorder marked by fibro-obliteration of the extrahepatic and intrahepatic bile ducts. It is the most common cause of pediatric end-stage liver disease and the leading indication for liver transplantation in children. There is significant heterogeneity in the etiology, involving various genetic and environmental factors such as viral infection, immune dysregulation and genetic predisposition to defective hepatobiliary development.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSemin Pediatr Surg
January 2025
Department of Surgery, University of California San Francisco, 505 Parnassus Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA; The Liver Center, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143; Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA; Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA. Electronic address:
Biliary atresia is a progressive neonatal cholangiopathy that leads to liver failure. Characterized by inflammation-mediated liver injury, the immune system plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of this disease. Though several types of immune cells and mediators have been implicated in animal models of biliary atresia, emerging literature reflects the complex interplay of components of the immune response that contributes to disease progression in humans.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChildren (Basel)
January 2025
Department of Paediatric Surgery, Kings College Hospital, Denmark Hill, London SE5 9RS, UK.
Biliary atresia (BA) is an obliterative disease of the bile ducts affecting between 1 in 10,000-20,000 infants with a predominance in Asian countries. It is clinically heterogeneous with a number of distinct variants (e.g.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!