Injured bile duct repair and liver disease / 中华肝胆外科杂志

ABSTRACT

The wound healing research in the biliary tree lag significantly behind similar studies on the skin and gastrointestinal tract. This is at least partly attributable to the difficulty to study on the biliary tract. But clinical relevance, more interest in biliary epithelial cell (BEC) pathophysiology, and widespread availability of BEC cultures are factors reversing this trend. In the extra-hepatic biliary tree,ineffectual wound healing, scarring and stricture development are pressing issues. In the smallest intra-hepatic bile ducts either impaired BEC proliferation or an exuberant response can contribute to liver disease. Chronic inflammation and persistent wound healing reactions in large and small bile ducts often lead to hepatic cirrhosis and liver cancer.