Pathophysiology, Complications, Diagnosis and Treatment of Gallstone Disease

The development of mouse models of gallstones, their significance to genetic studies of gallstone disease, and the most recent breakthroughs in gallstone pathophysiology from animal experiments are summarized. Physical-chemical, genetic, and molecular biological studies of gallstone disease in mice with knockout or transgene of specific target genes have revealed many novel insights into the intricate pathogenic processes of this very common hepatobiliary disease, demonstrating that interactions of five primary defects play an important role in the pathogenesis of cholesterol gallstones. Based on mice research, it has been postulated that several Lith genes generate hepatic hypersecretion of biliary cholesterol, with insulin resistance as part of the metabolic syndrome interacting with cholelithogenic environmental variables.