Fig. 1

Schematic overview of the hepatic lobule. Blood flows into the liver from the portal vein and the hepatic artery toward the central vein through the sinusoid surrounded by fenestrated liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSECs). Bile produced by hepatocytes is collected into the bile ducts via the bile canaliculi surrounded by the apical membrane of hepatocytes. Kupffer cells (KC), resident macrophages in the liver, are located at the luminal side of the sinusoids, while hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) are positioned in close proximity to LSECs. The canals of Hering is the joint between hepatocytes and the bile ducts