Whether the epithelial cell response (named “ductular reaction”) observed in chronic situations is only a marker of severity of liver disease or plays a role in liver cell regeneration remains under debate. However, recent cell tracking experiments provide a robust argument for the differentiation of those cells in an animal model of chronic liver disease and indicate that the situation could be similar in humans (Deng et al. 2018). Thanks to three other human studies (Lin et al., 2010; Yoon et al. 2011; Lanthier et al. 2015), we believe that epithelial cells give rise to subsequent peribiliary intermediate hepatocytes and create fully functional adjacent hepatocytes that may be beneficial for human liver regeneration.