Inhibition of apoptosis Hydrophobic bile salts induce hepatocellular apoptosis [247] [248] [249] by death receptordependent [250, 251] and -independent [252, 253] mechanisms, an effect that may become relevant when bile salts accumulate in the liver in cholestatic states. UDCA exerts anti-apoptotic effects in experimental in vivo models [247, 249, 252] as well as in vitro in primary human hepatocytes [254] . This anti-apoptotic effect may contribute to the alleviation of liver injury during UDCA treatment.