Bile duct epithelia are the target of a number of" cholangiopathies" characterized by
disordered bile ductular proliferation. Although mechanisms for bile ductular proliferation are
unknown, recent evidence suggests that extracellular nucleotides regulate cell proliferation
via activation of P2Y receptors. Portal fibroblasts may regulate bile duct epithelial P2Y
receptors via expression of the ecto-nucleotidase NTPDase2. Thus, we tested the
hypothesis that portal fibroblasts regulate bile duct epithelial proliferation via expression of …