Supporting data for "Isogenic bile duct organoid-macrophage coculture for characterizing the roles of human cytomegalovirus infection in Biliary Atresia"

Biliary Atresia (BA) is a devastating rare childhood disease. In healthy individuals, liver bile is collected by the liver biliary system and deposited into the gall bladder, where it is stored. Then, when food is eaten, the gallbladder contracts pushing bile through the cystic duct and into the common bile duct and then into the duodenum to help break down the fats. In BA, when bile ducts become damaged, there is a blockage in the bile flow from the liver to the intestine, bile can back up into the liver, causing damage to liver cells, which can lead to liver failure. Though BA is a rare disease, the incidence is much higher in the Asian ethnic population than in other parts of the world. It is observed that for every 100,000 live births, 100-500 infants are born with BA in Japan and Taiwan. However, in the European population, BA is diagnosed in 5-25 babies in every 100,000 live births.Many models and concepts of disease progression and etiologies have been proposed, including autoimmune diseases, toxins, immune dysfunction, embryonic development abnormalities, and genetic abnormalities. However, none of them can solve the complete puzzle of BA.