Animal models of primary biliary cirrhosis.

Primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is well known as a disease that predominantly affects women and has been hitherto only described in humans. The absence of an animal model has significantly impaired research into both etiology and treatment. However, in the past 2 years, several spontaneous and two induced models of PBC were described. This article reviews the data on these animal models and places it in the perspective of human PBC and generic autoimmunity.