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Updated: Jul 18, 2026
A Mouse Model of Chronic Liver Fibrosis for the Study of Biliary Atresia
Published on: February 3, 2023
The role of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 in biliary atresia
Hiroyuki Kobayashi1, Takuya Tamatani, Tsuyoshi Tamura
1Department of Pediatric General and Urogenital Surgery, Juntendo University School of Medicine, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8421, Japan. koba@med.juntendo.ac.jp
Background:
The aim of this study was to explain the role of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) in biliary atresia (BA).
Methods:
Concentrations of serum MCP-1 and collagen type IV were measured in 38 patients with BA by using commercially available kits. MCP-1 was also assessed in liver biopsy specimens by using immunohistochemistry. Subjects were classified into groups. Group 1 comprised BA patients with normal liver function (n = 13), group II comprised BA patients with moderate liver dysfunction (n = 18), group III comprised BA patients older than 20 years awaiting liver transplantation (n = 7), and the control group comprised age-matched patients without evidence of liver disease (n = 23).
Results:
Serum MCP-1 levels were significantly increased in group II compared with group I (P < .0001) and the control group (P < .0001). Serum MCP-1 levels in group III were lower than in the control group (P < .0001). There was a significant linear correlation between serum MCP-1 levels and type IV collagen levels in group II. Group II subjects with portal hypertension (PH) had higher MCP-1 levels than those without PH (P = .0009). Biopsy specimens showed MCP-1 was expressed mainly on biliary epithelial cells, vascular endothelial cells, and hepatocytes in group II.
Conclusions:
These findings suggest that MCP-1 probably plays a significant role in the development of progressive liver fibrosis in BA.
