Abstract: Biliary atresia (BA) is a serious disease of the hepatobiliary system in infants and children, which quickly worses into irreversible liver fibrosis and eventually leads to hepatic failure and death. Controling the liver fibrosis of BA patients with BA timely and effectively is the key to prolong or achieve their survival with autologous liver. Exosomes, as nano-scale vesicles containing special lipids, proteins and nucleic acids, have certain physiological and pathological functions, and regarded as a new way of communication between cells. In recent years, with increasing the research about exosomes, their function of regulating liver fibrosis of BA has been gradually concerned. And exosomes affect the fibrosis process as a carrier of the intercellular signal transmission: transfering or influencing fiber connective tissue growth factor or transforming growth factor beta 1, promoting the secretion of IL-17 indirectly, participating in Notch and Hedgehog (Hh) pathway relating to the process of liver fibrosis and regulating hepatic stellate cells’migration. In particular, it was reported that exosomes from adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells and human umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells play a role in inhibiting liver fibrosis in vitro. This paper aims to review the relationship between exosomes and liver fibrosis of BA and provide a new direction for clinical therapy.

Key words: biliary atresia, liver cirrhosis, transforming growth factor beta, connective tissue growth factor, exosomes