Author information
1Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Toronto Centre for Liver Disease, University of Toronto, 9th Floor Eaton Building, North Wing 219-B, 200 Elizabeth Street, Toronto, Ontario M5G 2C4, Canada.
2Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Toronto Centre for Liver Disease, University of Toronto, 9th Floor Eaton Building, North Wing 219-B, 200 Elizabeth Street, Toronto, Ontario M5G 2C4, Canada. Electronic address: Gideon.hirschfield@uhn.ca.
Abstract
Primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) is the most common of the autoimmune liver diseases, in which there is chronic small bile duct inflammation. The pathophysiology of PBC is multifactorial, involving immune dysregulation and damage to biliary epithelial cells, with influences from genetic factors, epigenetics, the gut-liver axis, and environmental exposures.