Abstract
During biliary tree homeostasis, BECs are largely in a quiescent state and their turnover
is slow for maintaining normal tissue homeostasis. BTSCs continually replenish new
BECs in the luminal surface of EHBDs. In response to various types of biliary injuries,
distinct cellular sources, including HPCs, BTSCs, hepatocytes, and BECs, repair or
regenerate the injured bile duct. BEC, biliary epithelial cell; BTSC, biliary tree
stem/progenitor cell; EHBD, extrahepatic bile ducts; HPC, hepatic progenitor cell.
The biliary tree comprises intrahepatic bile ducts and extrahepatic bile ducts lined
with epithelial cells known as biliary epithelial cells (BECs). BECs are a common
target of various cholangiopathies for which there is an unmet therapeutic need in
clinical hepatology. The repair and regeneration of biliary tissue may potentially
restore the normal architecture and function of the biliary tree. Hence, the repair
and regeneration process in detail, including the replication of existing BECs, expansion
and differentiation of the hepatic progenitor cells and biliary tree stem/progenitor
cells, and transdifferentiation of the hepatocytes, should be understood. In this
paper, we review biliary tree homeostasis, repair, and regeneration and discuss the
feasibility of regenerative therapy strategies for cholangiopathy treatment.
Keywords
biliary epithelial cells - homeostasis - injury - biliary regeneration