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Keywords

AE2 chloride, Bicarbonate exchanger, Cholestasis, DNA methylation, Epigenetic repression, Primary biliary cholangitis, Cirrhosis

Abstract

Primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) is a chronic immuneassociated cholestatic liver disease with unclear complex/multifactorial etiopathogenesis affecting mostly middle-aged women. Patients with PBC exhibit reduced expression of the AE2/SLC4A2 gene. Herein, we found that AE2 promoter regions are hypermethylated in the liver and peripheral blood mononuclear cells of patients with PBC. This increased methylation is associated with downregulated AE2-gene expression, which might contribute to the pathogenesis of PBC. Therefore, novel epigenetic targets may improve treatment in patients with PBC who respond poorly to current pharmacological therapies.

Note

This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

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