ABSTRACT
Ischemic-type biliary lesion (ITBL) refers to biliary tract injury caused by insufficient blood supply of hepatic artery, which is one of the main factors affecting the long-term survival and quality of life of liver transplant recipients. The incidence of ITBL is associated with cold and warm ischemia, acute and chronic rejection, cytomegalovirus infection and the bile effect, etc. The occurrence of ITBL is a complicated process involving with multiple factors and steps. The therapeutic option of ITBL is extremely limited. A large proportion of ITBL patients should undergo repeated liver transplantation. ITBL has become one of the most critical factors preventing further advancement of liver transplantation. Hence, it is of significance to strengthen prevention and explore more effective modalities. Recent studies have found that toxic injury of bile salts plays a central role in ITBL. Active regulation of bile components, regulation of bile acid-related receptor expression and blockage or activation of bile acid-related signaling pathways probably have potentials in the prevention and treatment of ITBL. In this article, the cytotoxicity of bile salts and the mechanism of bicarbonate umbrella in the incidence and progression of ITBL after liver transplantation were reviewed, aiming to provide reference for the diagnosis and treatment of ITBL.
ABSTRACT
At present, surgical and endoscopic interventions are mainly employed to treat ischemic-type biliary lesion (ITBL). Due to the disadvantages of single therapeutic strategy, high difficulty and expensive medical cost, it is urgent to identify a novel treatment option. Mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) has become potential seed cell for tissue and organ repair in regenerative medicine due to its high self-renewal capability, multi-directional differentiation potential, low immunogenicity and immunoregulatory effects, etc. Recent studies have demonstrated that MSC transplantation into ITBL animal models may not only home to the injured area, but also promote the repair of injured biliary tract tissues through anti-apoptotic and pro-angiogenic effect, which indicates that MSC transplantation is expected to become a new strategy for the treatment of ITBL. In this article, the biological characteristics of MSC, the mechanism and clinical application of MSC transplantation for ITBL were reviewed.