Nikhil Prasad Fact checked by:Thailand Medical News Team Oct 05, 2026 41 minutes ago
Two very different illnesses may trigger similar inflammatory responses in bile duct cells, according to research from China. Scientists identified overlapping immune activity in biliary atresia, a serious infant disease, and SARS-CoV-2-associated liver and bile duct injury.
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Researchers uncover shared inflammatory responses in bile duct cells
The researchers were from Harbin Medical University; its Key Laboratory of Preservation of Human Genetic Resources and Disease Control in China, Ministry of Education; its Sixth Affiliated Hospital; its Second Affiliated Hospital; and Heilongjiang Academy of Medical Sciences, all in Harbin, China.
Different Diseases, Similar Immune Activity
Biliary atresia causes inflammation and scarring that progressively block an infant’s bile ducts. COVID-19-related liver injury develops in a different biological setting. However, this
Thailand Medical News report examines evidence that their affected cells can activate similar defense mechanisms. The findings do not establish that COVID-19 causes biliary atresia.
Researchers compared gene activity in SARS-CoV-2-infected human liver organoids, miniature laboratory models, with biliary atresia liver tissues. An exploratory analysis identified 164 shared genes. After stricter statistical testing to reduce false discoveries, 52 genes remained.
Both analyses highlighted antiviral defenses, responses to double-stranded RNA, and interferon signaling. Interferons are chemical messengers that coordinate immune defenses. Three genes, STAT1, ISG15, and CXCL10, remained prominent within the shared network.
Bile Duct Cells Take Center Stage
In COVID-associated liver samples, cholangiocytes, the cells lining bile ducts, scored significantly higher for the shared gene pattern than other liver cells combined (P = 0.00368). Because this dataset lacked non-COVID controls, it could not establish whether infection increased that activity.
An independent dataset included nine biliary atresia samples and three choledochal cyst controls. Biliary atresia cholangiocytes showed higher scores for the shared pattern and increased expression of STAT1, ISG15, and CXCL10.
Tissue staining associated STAT1, its activated form, and ISG15 with bile duct structures. CXCL10 appeared mainly around those structures, suggesting involvement in the surrounding inflammatory environment.
Cultured human cholangiocytes exposed to a synthetic viral RNA mimic increased expression of all three genes. CXCL10 showed the strongest increase. Activated STAT1, ISG15, and CXCL10 protein levels also rose.
What the Findings Could Mean
Computer analyses identified mefloquine as a candidate for further investigation. However, predicted molecular interactions do not prove that it treats either condition.
The study offers useful clues about how bile duct cells respond to inflammatory stress across distinct diseases. Small tissue samples and differences between datasets mean larger studies and direct experiments are needed before these findings can guide
treatment.
The study findings were published in the peer reviewed journal: Frontiers in Immunology.
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2026.1923630/full
Read Also:
https://www.thailandmedical.news/articles/coronavirus
https://www.thailandmedical.news/articles/long-covid
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