Hepatic mRNA levels of interferon-gamma or interleukin-4 showed no significant differences between BA and non-BA, while FoxP3 was significantly higher in BA (<i>p</i> = 0.01).
IFN-γ mRNA expression levels in BA patients were also significantly increased, and the IFN-γ gene promoter region was hypomethylated in BA CD4+ T cells compared with controls and negatively correlated with DNA methylation.
In the first, we interrogated the hepatic transcriptome of children with biliary atresia and found an interferon-gamma (IFNgamma)-rich proinflammatory footprint at the time of diagnosis.