Document Type
Article
Original Publication Date
2004
Journal/Book/Conference Title
Clinical and Developmental Immunology
Volume
2004
DOI of Original Publication
10.1080/17402520400004177
Date of Submission
September 2014
Abstract
Our understanding of biliary epithelial cells (BEC) in physiobiology and immunology has steadily expanded. BEC transports IgA as well as IgM into bile, synthesizes and secretes various chemokines, cytokines, and expresses adhesion molecules involved in cell interaction and signal transduction. These then suggest a myriad of potential roles for BEC in defense from invading microorganisms as well as the pathogenesis of diverse immunologically driven diseases such as primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC), graft-versus-host disease, and primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC). Despite the progress, there still remain many areas of BEC biology that require further investigation. Most importantly, it remains to be clarified that the extent to which the immunologic activities observed in BEC represent a BEC response to tissue injury or whether BEC themselves are the active participants in the pathogenesis of various cholestatic immunological diseases, including PBC and PSC.
Rights
Copyright © 2004 Hindawi Publishing Corporation. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Is Part Of
VCU Internal Medicine Publications
Comments
Originally published at http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17402520400004177