Experimental Hepatology

We do this by using human material, different murine models of cholangitis, sequening based approaches, organoids, organ-on-a-chip systems and other in vitro assays.

About the group

Our group is focusing on experimental and translational studies related to primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC).

The overall aim of our research is to understand mechanisms regulating cholangitis with a clear focus on immunology and the interaction of the immune system with the microbiome and what role the cholangiocytes play in propagation of the inflammatory process. 

From the previous genome-wide association studies it is clear that the genetic risk factors for PSC are genes involved in the immune response.

This inspired our clear focus on immunological mechanisms. We have therefore chosen to study various immune driven models of cholangitis along with models based on specific genetic findings in the human studies.

To uncover novel mechanisms, we are using unbiased spatial transcriptomics and single-cell sequencing.
To complement the in vivo studies the group is also using selected in vitro cellular models to study the role of various cell types in the liver and bile duct immune responses. 

We are also aiming to model the disease process in the bile ducts using organoids and organ-on-a-chip technology. Such a bile-duct-on-a-chip model gives the opportunity to use organoids generated from patients in the experiments.

Our laboratory activities take place at the Research Institute of Internal Medicine.

Financial support 

The experimental projects are funded by:

• The Norwegian PSC research center (NoPSC)
• PSC partners
• The South Eastern Norwegian Health trust
• The Research Council of Norway (NFR)

Publications

These are the group's latest publications in PubMed.