Lack of correlation between infection with reovirus 3 and extrahepatic biliary atresia or neonatal hepatitis

Unraveling the Pathogenesis and Etiology of Biliary Atresia

“…Interest in reovirus developed after the observation that infection in weanling mice caused extrahepatic bile duct cyst formation and intrahepatic bile duct pathologic features similar to those of BA (12). Serologic studies initially suggested an increased rate of infection with reovirus in infants with BA and neonatal hepatitis (13,14), however, subsequent studies could not confirm these findings (15,16).…”

“…Detection of reovirus antigens in the bile duct remnants from an infant Rhesus monkey with BA (17) and from human infants with BA (18) was reported, although the latter findings were not replicated by others (15). Three groups of investigators have examined hepatobiliary tissues removed from infants with BA for reovirus RNA.…”

Biliary Atresia Is Associated with CD4+ Th1 Cell–Mediated Portal Tract Inflammation

“…Many investigators have sought to identify a viral cause of biliary atresia. Evidence for reovirus type 3 infection in biliary atresia was demonstrated in some studies (6 -8) but not substantiated by others (9,10). Likewise, group C rotavirus was found in patients with biliary atresia by Riepenhoff-Talty et al (11); however, another study failed to identify this virus (12).…”

Innate immune response to double-stranded RNA in biliary epithelial cells is associated with the pathogenesis of biliary atresia

“…Little is known about the etiology and pathogenesis of BA, but recent studies have demonstrated the presence of Reoviridae (type 3 reovirus and type C rotavirus) having a double-strand RNA (dsRNA) in liver tissue of patients with BA, although conflicting results have been reported. [1][2][3][4][5] Moreover, the infection of newborn Balb/cmice with Reoviridae including type A rhesus rotavirus and type 3 reovirus (Abney) leads to cholestasis and biliary obstruction resembling human BA. 6,7 However, the role of these viruses in the pathogenesis of cholangiopathies in patients with BA is still unknown.…”