These findings, together with the co-expression of HGF and BMP9 in livers from patients suffering primary sclerosing cholangitis or primary biliary cholangitis (public database GSE61256), set the grounds of the present study, aiming at elucidating a potential signaling and functional interplay between HGF and BMP9 in oval cells. Here, GDF2 is linked to sclerosing cholangitis.