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Adaptive remodeling of the biliary tree: the essence of liver progenitor cell expansion
Author(s) -
Kok Cindy YuetYin,
Miyajima Atsushi,
Itoh Tohru
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of hepato‐biliary‐pancreatic sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.63
H-Index - 60
eISSN - 1868-6982
pISSN - 1868-6974
DOI - 10.1002/jhbp.250
Subject(s) - progenitor cell , progenitor , biology , parenchyma , population , pathology , liver cell , stem cell , microbiology and biotechnology , medicine , environmental health
The liver progenitor cell population has long been thought to exist within the liver. However, there are no standardized criteria for defining the liver progenitor cells, and there has been intense debate about the origin of these cells in the adult liver. The characteristics of such cells vary depending on the disease model used and also on the method of analysis. Visualization of three‐dimensional biliary structures has revealed that the emergence of liver progenitor cells essentially reflects the adaptive remodeling of the hepatic biliary network in response to liver injury. We propose that the progenitor cell exists as a subpopulation in the biliary tree and show that the appearance of liver progenitor cells in injured parenchyma is reflective of extensive remodeling of the biliary structure.