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. 2022 Apr 27;23(9):4841. doi: 10.3390/ijms23094841

Figure 3.

Figure 3

The role of regulatory T cells and dysregulated microRNAs in biliary atresia pathogenesis. Deficits in function and quantity of regulatory T cells contribute to the loss of function in auto-immunosuppression, which gives rise to excessive release of type 1 and 2 cytokines that are both associated with epithelial injury. Downregulated DNMT1 and DNMT3 cause the hypomethylation of LINE-1, ALU, and SAT2 repetitive sequences, and IFN-γ promoter activity, which triggers type 1 cytokines-induced epithelial injury. The SOCS1 protein can halt chemokine-induced inflammatory cell infiltration that causes bile duct obstruction. The FOXA2 protein arrests the recruitment and activation of dendritic cells and Th2 cells, leading to the low production of chemokines and type 2 cytokines. The solid cyan arrow represents the releasing effect, and the T-shaped solid cyan arrow indicates the inhibition of the releasing effect. Abbreviations: Tregs, regulatory T cells; DNMT1, DNA methyltransferase 1; and DNMT3, DNA methyltransferase 3.