In this regard, work from our laboratory demonstrated the enrichment of α-SMA-positive cells in close proximity to LC3B-positive ductule structures (observed both in the livers of cirrhotic patients and in a rat model of AAF/CCL4-induced liver cirrhosis), providing evidence that autophagy may have a role in this paracrine interaction between RDCs and myofibroblasts. This evidence concerns the gene CCL4 and cirrhosis of liver.