What is a Cholangiocyte?
What is a Cholangiocyte?
Cholangiocytes are a heterogeneous, highly dynamic population of epithelial cells that line a three-dimensional network of bile ducts known as the biliary tree. Their major physiologic function lies in modification of hepatic canalicular (i.e., primary) bile as it is transported along the biliary tree.
Where are cholangiocytes located?
bile duct
Cholangiocytes are the epithelial cells of the bile duct. They are cuboidal epithelium in the small interlobular bile ducts, but become columnar and mucus secreting in larger bile ducts approaching the porta hepatis and the extrahepatic ducts.
What are canals of Hering?
The canals of Hering (CoH) begin in the lobules, are lined partially by cholangiocytes and partly by hepatocytes, and conduct bile from bile canaliculi to terminal bile ducts in portal tracts. The canals represent the true hepatocytic-biliary interface that thus lies within the lobule and not at the limiting plate.
What is the function of bile canaliculi?
The apical surfaces of hepatocytes are specialized to form the boundaries of the bile canaliculi. The canaliculi function to secrete and concentrate components of the bile and to transport the bile out of the interior of the hepatic parenchymal tissue to the epithelium-lined bile ducts.
What is florid duct lesion?
The florid duct lesion, defined as a granulomatous destruction of the bile ducts, is the histological hallmark of PBC. The granulomatous inflammation may be either well-formed or vague, and is accompanied by lymphocytes and variable numbers of plasma cells, all of which are centered on the bile duct [6].
What is space of mall?
The periportal space (Latin: spatium periportale), or periportal space of Mall, is a space between the stroma of the portal canal and the outermost hepatocytes in the hepatic lobule, and is thought to be one of the sites where lymph originates in the liver.
What is the meaning of Canaliculi?
Definition of canaliculus : a minute canal in a bodily structure.
What are hepatocytes?
Abstract. Hepatocytes, the major parenchymal cells in the liver, play pivotal roles in metabolism, detoxification, and protein synthesis. Hepatocytes also activate innate immunity against invading microorganisms by secreting innate immunity proteins.
How can I expand the isolated cholangiocytes?
To achieve expansion of the isolated cholangiocytes, the cells are embedded in Matrigel and treated with a combination of epidermal growth factor (EGF), R-spondin-1 and DKK-1.
What is DNA isolation and how is it done?
DNA isolation is a process of purification of DNA from samples using a combination of physical as well as chemical approaches. The first isolation of DNA was performed in 1869 by Friedrich Miescher. Techniques utilized to separate DNA are dependent on the source, age, and the dimension of the sample.
Are cholangiocytes biochemically heterogeneous?
Cholangiocytes are not only morphologically heterogeneous along the biliary tree, but they are also biochemically heterogenous. Many proteins reflecting a cholangiocyte phenotype are expressed in both small and large cholangiocytes, but some proteins are expressed in small but not large cholangiocytes and vice versa.
What is the difference between small and large cholangiocytes?
Small and large cholangiocytes differ in nuclear-to-cytoplasmic ratio; small cholangiocytes have a higher ratio, suggesting they are less differentiated and have more capacity for plasticity as compared to large cholangiocytes ( Benedetti et al., 1996; Marzioni et al., 2002 ).
