Journal
WORLD JOURNAL OF GASTROENTEROLOGY
Volume 12, Issue 22, Pages 3537-3545Publisher
BAISHIDENG PUBLISHING GROUP INC
DOI: 10.3748/wjg.v12.i22.3537
Keywords
estrogens; cholangiocytes; IGF1; proliferation; APDKD; PBC; cholangiocarcinoma; SERMs
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Funding
- NIDDK NIH HHS [DK062975, R01 DK062975, DK58411, R01 DK058411] Funding Source: Medline
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The scientific framework concerning estrogen effects on different tissues has expanded enormously during the last decades, when estrogen receptor (ER) subtypes were identified. Estrogens are not only essential for the female reproductive system, but they also control fundamental functions in other tissues including the cardiovascular system, bone, brain and liver. Recently, estrogens have been shown to target the biliary tree, where they modulate the proliferative and secretory activities of cholangiocytes, the epithelial cells lining bile ducts. By acting on both estrogen receptors (ER-alpha) and (ER-beta) subtypes, and by activating either genomic or non-genomic pathways, estrogens play a key role in the complex loop of growth factors and cytokines, which modulates the proliferative response of cholangiocytes to damage. Specifically, estrogens activate intracellular signalling cascades [ERK1/2 (extracellular regulated kinases 1/2, PI3- kinase/AKT (phosphatidylinositol-3' kinase/AKT)] typical of growth factors such as insulin like growth factor (IGF1), nerve growth factor (NGF) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), thus potentiating their action. In addition, estrogens stimulate the secretion of different growth factors in proliferating cholangiocytes. This review specifically deals with the recent advances related to the role and mechanisms by which estrogens modulate cholangiocyte functions in normal and pathological conditions. (C) 2006 The WJG Press. All rights reserved.
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