Occludin dislocation in brain capillary endothelium of rats with bile duct ligation induced cholestasis

► Dislocation of occludin in brain capillaries of rats with bile duct ligation. ► Intercellular occludin immunogold particles dislocated to cytosolic areas. ► Dislocation detected in midbrain and cerebellum but not in frontal cortex. ► Region-specific brain abnormalities in liver disease are suggested by studies. ► Potentially correlated with clinical manifestations of hepatic encephalopathy.