Overview

• Chronic liver disease affects about 1.5 billion people worldwide and currently has no treatments beyond liver transplantation
• A study published in Nature Communications demonstrates that vitamin D supplementation upregulates TXNIP in bile duct cells to counteract pathological ductular proliferation
• Mouse models lacking TXNIP in cholangiocytes exhibited exaggerated ductular reaction alongside increased liver inflammation and fibrotic scarring
• Txnip deficiency was shown to elevate TNF-α and TGF-β secretion by cholangiocytes, triggering Kupffer cell activation and collagen deposition by hepatic stellate cells
• Investigators urge clinical trials to assess vitamin D as an affordable adjunct therapy for chronic liver disease