{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,12]],"date-time":"2025-10-12T02:13:20Z","timestamp":1760235200073,"version":"build-2065373602"},"reference-count":48,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,7,27]],"date-time":"2021-07-27T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1627344000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100005297","name":"Uniwersytet Medyczny w Bialymstoku","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["SUB\/1\/DN\/20\/003\/1194"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["SUB\/1\/DN\/20\/003\/1194"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100005297","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Cells"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Considering that the heterogenic population of a hepatic progenitor cell line (HPCL) can play a vital role in autoimmune hepatitis (AIH), we decided to conduct pioneering retrospective evaluation of these cells in pediatric AIH by means of transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The aim of the study was to assess the ultrastructure of the HPCL in children with untreated AIH. Ultrastructural analysis of the HPCL population, preceded by immunohistochemical staining for cytokeratin 7 (CK7), was performed using pretreatment liver biopsies from 23 children with clinicopathologically diagnosed AIH. Immunohistochemical assessment for CK7 allowed detection of proliferating immature epithelial cells differentiating towards periportal and intralobular intermediate hepatocytes without marked formation of ductular reactions in AIH children. Using TEM, we distinguished three morphological types of HPCs: I\u2014the most undifferentiated progenitor cells; III\u2014intermediate hepatocyte-like cells; II\u2014intermediate bile duct cells. Most frequent were the cells differentiating towards hepatocytes, most rare\u2014those differentiating towards cholangiocytes. The results indicate that an HPCL may be an important source of hepatocyte regeneration. Ultrastructural analyses of the HPCL population, combined with immunohistochemistry for CK7, might be a useful tool to evaluate liver cell regeneration, including fibrogenesis, and may help better understand the morphological pattern of the disease, in pediatric AIH. Frequent appearance of an HPCL in the vicinity of fibrotic foci, often accompanied by hyperactive Kupffer cells and transitional hepatic stellate cells, may indicate their significant involvement in liver fibrogenesis.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/cells10081899","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,7,27]],"date-time":"2021-07-27T12:18:31Z","timestamp":1627388311000},"page":"1899","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":5,"title":["Ultrastructural Profile Combined with Immunohistochemistry of a Hepatic Progenitor Cell Line in Pediatric Autoimmune Hepatitis: New Insights into the Morphological Pattern of the Disease"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"10","author":[{"given":"Joanna Maria","family":"Lotowska","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Pathomorphology, Faculty of Medicine with the Division of Dentistry and Division of Medical Education in English, Medical University of Bialystok, 15-269 Bialystok, Poland"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5521-7819","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Maria Elzbieta","family":"Sobaniec-Lotowska","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Pathomorphology, Faculty of Medicine with the Division of Dentistry and Division of Medical Education in English, Medical University of Bialystok, 15-269 Bialystok, Poland"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Piotr","family":"Sobaniec","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pediatric Neurology and Rehabilitation, Faculty of Health Sciences, Medical University of Bialystok, 15-274 Bialystok, Poland"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,7,27]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1433","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(12)62163-1","article-title":"Autoimmune hepatitis","volume":"382","author":"Heneghan","year":"2013","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1375","DOI":"10.1111\/hepr.12875","article-title":"Immunoserological and histological differences between autoimmune hepatitis with acute presentation and chronic autoimmune hepatitis","volume":"47","author":"Dohmen","year":"2017","journal-title":"Hepatol. 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