Coordinated development of the mouse extrahepatic bile duct: implications for neonatal susceptibility to biliary injury

Background & AimsThe extrahepatic bile duct is the primary tissue initially affected by the cholangiopathy biliary atresia. Biliary atresia affects neonates exclusively and current animal models suggest that the developing bile duct is uniquely susceptible to damage. In this study, we aimed to define the anatomical and functional differences between the neonatal and adult mouse extrahepatic bile ducts.\n\nMethodsWe studied mouse passaged cholangiocytes, mouse BALB/c neonatal and adult primary cholangiocytes and isolated extrahepatic bile ducts, and a collagen reporter mouse. Methods included transmission electron microscopy, lectin staining, immunostaining, rhodamine uptake assays, bile acid toxicity assays, and in vitro modeling of the matrix.\n\nResultsThe cholangiocyte monolayer of the neonatal extrahepatic bile duct was immature, lacking the uniform apical glycocalyx and mature cell-cell junctions typical of adult cholangiocytes. Functional studies showed that the glycocalyx protected against bile acid injury and that neonatal cholangiocyte monolayers were more permeable than adult monolayers. In adult ducts, the submucosal space was filled with collagen I, elastin, hyaluronic acid, and proteoglycans. In contrast, the neonatal submucosa had little collagen I and elastin, although both increased rapidly after birth. In vitro modeling suggested that the composition of the neonatal submucosa relative to the adult submucosa led to increased diffusion of bile. A Col-GFP reporter mouse showed that cells in the neonatal but not adult submucosa were actively producing collagen.\n\nConclusionWe identified four key differences between the neonatal and adult extrahepatic bile duct. We showed that these features may have functional implications, suggesting the neonatal extrahepatic bile ducts are particularly susceptible to injury and fibrosis.\n\nLay SummaryBiliary atresia is a disease that affects newborns and is characterized by extrahepatic bile duct injury and obstruction with resulting liver injury. We identify four key differences between the epithelial and submucosal layers of the neonatal and adult extrahepatic bile duct and show that these may render the neonatal duct particularly susceptible to injury.\n\nHighlightsO_LIThe apical glycocalyx is thin and patchy in neonatal compared to adult cholangiocytes\nC_LIO_LINeonatal cholangiocytes have immature cell-cell junctions and increased permeability\nC_LIO_LIThe neonatal submucosal space has minimal collagen I or elastin\nC_LIO_LIThe neonatal submucosal space contains many actively collagen-secreting cells\nC_LI\n\nGraphical abstract\n\nO_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=95 SRC=\"FIGDIR/small/576256_ufig1.gif\" ALT=\"Figure 1\">\nView larger version (27K):\norg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1685e52org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1086478org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1fc3f55org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1a20a5f_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG C_FIG