Gastroenterology and Hepatology

Liver Inflammation and Immunology

The human liver is thought to be a non-immunological organ that primarily performs metabolic, nutrient storage, and detoxification functions, but it has a number of unique immunological properties, including immune tolerance induction, strong innate immunity, poor adaptive immunity versus over-reactive autoimmunity, and hematopoiesis in the foetal liver. With a wide immune cell repertoire as well as non-hematopoietic cell populations, the healthy liver is a hub of immunological activity. Hepatocytes, for example, have intrinsic immunity that protects them from hepatic and systemic bacterial infections. Kupffer cells, also known as stellate macrophages or Kupffer-Browicz cells, are specialized macrophages that line the walls of the sinusoids and are part of the mononuclear phagocyte system