The liver has an established ability to induce tolerance. Recent evidence indicates that this
unique property might be related to its distinctive architecture allowing T cells to be
activatedin situindependently of lymphoid tissues. Unlike lymph node–activated T cells, liver-
activated T cells are short-lived, a mechanism that might contribute to the “liver tolerance
effect.” Although the potential role of hepatocytes as tolerogenic antigen-presenting cells
has been demonstrated, the question as to whether these cells are able to interact with …