Spontaneous cholangiofibrosis adjacent to a dilated common bile duct with intestinal metaplasia in a Royal College of Surgeons rat

A 130-week-old male Royal College of Surgeons rat kept as a non-treated animal in a long-term animal study presented with a mass in the hepatic portal region that adhered to a dilated common bile duct and the duodenum. Histopathologically, the solitary mass showed expansive growth with no apparent compression and continued to dilate the common bile duct, which had a hyperplastic epithelium with intestinal metaplasia. The mass mainly consisted of small to large dilated and/or tortuous ducts with abundant dense connective tissue and many inflammatory cells. The single-layer lining epithelium of the duct changed from cuboidal to columnar. Immunohistochemically, the lining cells were positive for cytokeratin 7, cytokeratin 19, and OV-6, which are bile duct markers. Based on the pathological characteristics, the rat was diagnosed as spontaneous cholangiofibrosis adjacent to a dilated common bile duct with intestinal metaplasia.