Cholestasis articles from across Nature Portfolio

Excessive expansion of cholangiocytes in the liver leads to ductular reaction and liver disease. Here, the authors show that genetic ablation, or pharmacological inhibition, of biliary NIK blocks ductular reaction, liver inflammation, and liver fibrosis in mice by modulating secretion of cholangiokines that mediate liver inflammation and fibrosis.

The pathogenesis of biliary atresia remains poorly understood. Here, the authors report that maternal butyrate treatment alters the gut microbiome and glutamine/hypoxanthine metabolites similar to human subjects, and suppresses biliary atresia in newborn mice.

It is still challenging to make accurate diagnosis of biliary atresia (BA) with sonographic gallbladder images particularly in rural areas without relevant expertise. Here, the authors develop a diagnostic deep learning model which favourable performance in comparison with human experts in multi-center external validation.