BiotechMashup

(World Journal of Gastroenterology) Vanishing bile duct syndrome (VBDS) is an important cause of jaundice, and results from destruction of bile ducts in the liver. However, this syndrome is rare in patients with human immunodeficiency virus infection. Nevirapine, an anti-retroviral that is being increasingly used, was implicated as the cause of VBDS in a patient described in a recent report.

Scientists have made a significant breakthrough in understanding the cause of bile duct cancer, a deadly type of liver cancer. By identifying several new genes frequently mutated in bile duct cancers, researchers are paving the way for better understanding of how bile duct cancers develop.

(Van Andel Research Institute) A team of international scientists has made a significant breakthrough in understanding the cause of bile duct cancer, a deadly type of liver cancer. By identifying several new genes frequently mutated in bile duct cancers, researchers are paving the way for better understanding of how bile duct cancers develop. Their discovery is published online in Nature Genetics.

Researchers have taken a big step toward understanding what causes one of the most serious liver diseases in infants. The disease is called biliary atresia. It blocks the bile ducts in young infants. Until now, doctors weren't sure what caused biliary atresia. The researchers propose that an infection late in the third trimester of pregnancy or soon after birth initiates the bile duct injury.

Understanding how hepatic precursor cells can generate differentiated bile ducts is crucial for studies on epithelial morphogenesis and for development of cell therapies for hepatobiliary diseases. Epimorphin (EPM) is a key morphogen for duct morphogenesis in various epithelial organs.

(University of Colorado Denver) Researchers at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and the Children's Hospital have taken a big step toward understanding what causes one of the most serious liver diseases in infants. The disease is called biliary atresia. It blocks the bile ducts in young infants. Until now, doctors weren't sure what caused biliary atresia. The CU researchers propose that an infection late in the third trimester of pregnancy or soon after birth initiates the bile duct injury.

(Massachusetts General Hospital) Investigators at the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center have identified a new genetic signature associated with bile duct cancer, a usually deadly tumor for which effective treatment currently is limited.

(Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center) Scientists have linked an overactive response by one of the immune system's key weapons against infection -- natural killer, or NK, cells -- to biliary atresia in infants, a disease where blocked bile ducts can cause severe liver damage and death. The study, to appear in the Aug. 3 Journal of Clinical Investigation, shows blocking a gene that helps NK cells attack bile duct tissues may be a way to treat a common cause of liver disease in children.

by Lisa Reinhard, Christian Rupp, Hans-Dieter Riedel, Thomas Ruppert, Thomas Giese, Christa Flechtenmacher, Karl Heinz Weiss, Petra Kloeters-Plachky, Wolfgang Stremmel, Peter Schirmacher, Peter Sauer, Daniel Nils Gotthardt
Background and Aims Bile analysis has the potential to serve as a surrogate marker for inflammatory and neoplastic disorders of the biliary epithelium and may provide insight into biliary pathophysiology and possible diagnostic markers. We aimed to identify biliary protein markers of patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) by a proteomic approach.