C are the epithelial cells which line the intrahepatic biliary tree, a network of interconnecting
ducts of increasing diameter from the duct of Hering to the extrahepatic bile ducts (l-6).
Cholangiocytes determine the final bile composition through a series of secretory and
absorptive processes regulated by a number of hormones and neuropeptides (2-5). The
intrahepatic bile ducts are the target of damage in a group of chronic cholestatic liver
diseases recently classified as Vanishing Bile Duct Syndromes (4, 7-9). These diseases are …