Original Article
Copyright ©2013 Baishideng Publishing Group Co., Limited. All rights reserved.
World J Hepatol. Aug 27, 2013; 5(8): 425-432
Published online Aug 27, 2013. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v5.i8.425
Participation of peribiliary glands in biliary tract pathophysiologies
Saya Igarashi, Yasunori Sato, Xiang Shan Ren, Kenichi Harada, Motoko Sasaki, Yasuni Nakanuma
Saya Igarashi, Yasunori Sato, Xiang Shan Ren, Kenichi Harada, Motoko Sasaki, Yasuni Nakanuma, Department of Human Pathology, Kanazawa University Graduate School of Medicine, Kanazawa 920-8640, Japan
Author contributions: Igarashi S, Sato Y and Ren XS performed the majority of experiments; Harada K and Sasaki M provided vital reagents and advice; Nakanuma Y supervised this study and wrote the manuscript.
Correspondence to: Yasuni Nakanuma, MD, Department of Human Pathology, Kanazawa University Graduate School of Medicine, 13-1 Takara-machi, Kanazawa 920-8640, Japan. nakanuma@staff.kanazawa-u.ac.jp
Telephone: +81-76-2652197 Fax: +81-76-2344229
Received: May 2, 2013
Revised: July 24, 2013
Accepted: August 4, 2013
Published online: August 27, 2013
Processing time: 165 Days and 3.8 Hours
Core Tip

Core tip: Immunohistochemical analysis showed that pancreatic duodenal homeobox factor 1 was more frequently expressed in the peribiliary glands than epithelia lining the bile duct and was accompanied by the reciprocal expression pattern of hairy and enhancer of split 1. These results may reflect maintenance of the biliary tract and the increased expression of endodermal stem/progenitor cell markers may be involved in the unique pathophysiologies of the peribiliary glands.