Pitfalls and promises of bile duct alternatives: A narrative review

Figure 1 Ideal bile duct regeneration process. A: Bile duct regeneration at approximately 3 wk. Numerous cell masses appear in the stroma that are thought to form peribiliary glands; B: Bile duct regeneration at approximately 5 wk. A ring-shaped peribiliary gland-like structure is observed, in which cell masses that are thought to form peribiliary glands are fused; C: Bile duct regeneration at approximately 7 wk. Numerous bile duct-attached glandular structures are observed on the bile passage surface, and the epithelial surface exhibits a high papillary morphology; D: Bile duct regeneration at approximately 12 wk. The number of peribiliary glands on the bile passage surface is decreased, the peribiliary glands become fused, and the epithelial surface becomes more even; E: Approximately 6 mo after bile duct regeneration. Similar to the native bile duct, the epithelial surface becomes a single layer of cubic columnar epithelium.