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Review
. 2010 Apr;51(4):1438-44.
doi: 10.1002/hep.23405.

Portal fibroblasts: Underappreciated mediators of biliary fibrosis

Jonathan A Dranoff  1 , Rebecca G Wells
Affiliations
Review

Portal fibroblasts: Underappreciated mediators of biliary fibrosis

Jonathan A Dranoff et al. Hepatology. 2010 Apr.

Abstract

Portal fibroblasts are an important yet often overlooked nonparenchymal cell population in the liver. They are distinct from hepatic stellate cells, yet like stellate cells differentiate in the setting of chronic injury to fibrogenic myofibroblasts, playing an important role in collagen production in the fibrotic liver. Portal fibroblasts (PFs) are located adjacent to bile duct epithelia and thus play a particularly significant role in biliary fibrosis. New data suggest that they may also have key functions independent of fibrogenesis. This review addresses the definition and characteristics of PFs as well as their signaling pathways, interactions with the biliary epithelium, and contributions to liver pathobiology.

Conclusion: PFs are an important and multifunctional nonparenchymal cell population in need of further study.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Expression of NTPD2 by PF
A. Confocal immunofluorescent expression of NTPD2 in normal liver. Sections were obtained from normal rat liver, and a photomicrograph highlight of a portal area is shown. NTPD2 expression is demonstrated by indirect immunofluorescence (green), and filamentous actin is shown by staining with rhodamine phalloidin (red). NTPD2 is expressed in the stromal cells surrounding intrahepatic bile ducts, identified by apical and lateral actin staining. B. Immunofluorescent expression of NTPD2 in isolated rat PF on glass coverslips. NTPD2 is seen at the plasma membrane and intracellular structures. C, D. Immuno-electron microscopic expression of NTPD2 in normal liver. Sections were obtained from normal rat liver, and an area of the PF-bile duct interface is shown. Immuno-gold labeling is seen on PF and is plentiful on membranous extensions from the PF soma that are adjacent to the bile duct basolateral membrane, best seen in the inset (D). Adapted from (53).
Figure 2
Figure 2. PF, unlike HSC, express the fibroblast marker TE-7
Myofibroblastic HSC (A) and PF (B), isolated as described from normal rat liver and differentiated in culture (22), were stained with the fibroblast marker TE-7 (red) and with the nuclear stain DAPI (blue). Note that this marker clearly distinguishes the two cell types, and identifies PF in culture as fibroblasts.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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