Fig. 7.
Restoration of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis inhibits cholangiocyte proliferation after BDL. Rats underwent BDL or sham surgery and then treated systemically with ACTH (100 μg·kg−1·day−1 ip) or centrally with CRH (5 μg·rat−1·day−1 icv) for 7 days. A: circulating corticosterone levels assessed by commercially available EIA. Values are means ± SE; n = 5. *P < 0.05 vs. sham. #P < 0.05 vs. BDL. B and C: CK-19-positive cholangiocytes and PCNA-expressing cholangiocytes in liver sections. Values are means ± SE; n = 7. *P < 0.05 vs. sham. #P < 0.05 vs. BDL.