Table 1. Heterogeneity of hepatocyte and cholangiocyte damage in ALDs.

	AIH	PBC	PSC
Main target cells	Hepatocytes. Severe chronic hepatitis with intense portal and lobular inflammation, severe interface hepatitis, and many damaged hepatocytes	Cholangiocytes (small interlobular and septal bile ducts). Non-suppurative destructive cholangitis. Cholangiocytes with swelling, vacuolated or eosinophilic cytoplasm, pyknotic nuclei, and proliferative changes with stratification	Cholangiocytes (large intra- and extra-hepatic bile ducts). Cholangiocytes with features of degeneration and atrophy, resulting in strictures and eventually occlusions
Inflammatory cells	Mainly lymphocytes, with a variable amount of plasma cells (especially the presence of plasma cell clusters). Some eosinophils and neutrophils may be seen	Mainly lymphocytes and often numerous plasma cells (especially a coronal arrangement of plasma cells around the bile duct). Eosinophils may also be numerous, particularly at earlier stages	In early disease, the changes are confined to portal tracts, with a mild mixed inflammatory cell infiltrate of lymphocytes, plasma cells, and neutrophils, usually more intense around bile ducts
Other parenchyma cells	Ductular reaction, collateral, and inconspicuous bile duct injury	Mild hepatocyte necrosis, acidophilic bodies, and even interface hepatitis. Feathery degeneration of hepatocytes in advanced disease stages	Small duct PSC (3–5% of PSC patients). In the late phase, periportal or diffuse hepatocyte metaplasia
Typical histopathology	Moderate-severe interface hepatitis, rosettes	Florid duct lesion	Onion skin fibrosis

ALDs, autoimmune liver diseases; AIH, autoimmune hepatitis; PBC, primary biliary cholangitis; PSC, primary sclerosing cholangitis.