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Biomedical subjects

M Parquet

Publications and source records attributed to M Parquet.

30 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Biodynamics of cholesterol and bile acids in the lithiasic hamster.

By using the isotopic equilibrium method in the young male Syrian hamster, the rates of cholesterol turnover processes, i.e. dietary cholesterol absorption, cholesterol synthesis, cholesterol excretion in the faeces and urine and cholesterol transformation into bile acids, were determined in the hamster receiving a control (C) or a lithogenic diet (L) for 7 weeks. At the end of this period the gall bladder of all animals in group L contained cholesterol gallstones. The coefficient of dietary cholesterol absorption was reduced by 26%, cholesterol synthesis and cholesterol faecal excretion were twofold higher in group L than in group C. Bile acid content in the small intestine was diminished in group L, but bile acid composition was similar in the two groups. The increase in cholesterogenesis in lithiasic animals essentially took place in the liver. Bile acid biosynthesis did not significantly differ in the two groups, but represented only 35% of total cholesterol input (dietary absorption + internal secretion) in group L v. 52% in group C. Thus, in the lithiasic hamster, hepatic synthesis of cholesterol and bile acids are not coupled. The molar percentage of cholesterol in bile was twofold higher in group L than in group C but those of bile acids and of phospholipids were not modified. In the lithiasic hamster the specific activity of biliary cholesterol was similar to that in plasma and liver. Consequently, biliary cholesterol does not derive directly from cholesterol newly synthesized in the liver but from hepatic cholesterol rapidly exchangeable with plasma cholesterol.

Animals↗

Metabolism and effects on biliary lipid secretion of murocholic acid in the hamster.

The metabolism of murocholic acid (MC), a 6 beta-hydroxylated bile acid, was investigated after intravenous (i.v.), intraduodenal (i.d.) or intragastric (i.g.) administration to bile fistula hamsters. The effects on biliary cholesterol and phospholipid secretion were measured during intravenous infusions of increasing doses of [3H]MC. At an infusion rate of 0.1 or 1 mumol.min-1.kg-1, the hepatic uptake was effective. More than 90% of the dose was recovered in bile within 4 h. A bolus injection of 500 micrograms of [3H]MC in the duodenum led to a rapid and efficient biliary secretion of radioactivity. Increasing i.v. infused doses of MC had no effect on bile flow or biliary cholesterol output compared to the controls. Phospholipid secretion was significantly reduced (0.113 mumol.min-1.kg-1 versus 0.238 mumol.min-1.kg-1 in in controls per mumol.min-1.kg-1 of excreted bile acids) as MC progressively replaced the endogenous bile acid pool in bile. After i.v. and i.d. administration, MC was secreted in bile as glyco and tauro conjugates without additional hepatic hydroxylation, sulfation or glucuronidation. The i.g. ingestion of MC followed by the faecal analysis of metabolites showed the formation of hyodeoxycholic acid and 3 alpha-OH-6-oxo-5 beta-cholan-24-oic acid. An equivalent experiment with hyodeoxycholic acid gave MC and the same oxo bile acid. We concluded that MC is metabolized by the hamster liver as an endogenous bile acid, which undergoes intestinal bacterial transformation into a 6-oxo derivative and is then reduced into hyodeoxycholic acid. This process is completely reversible.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗

Hepatic transport of bile acids in the isolated perfused rat liver. Structure-kinetic relationship.

We studied the transport kinetics of a series of bile acids from blood to bile in the isolated perfused rat liver in order to define better the relationship between chemical structure of bile acid molecules and efficiency of the overall hepatic transport process. BA studied were taurocholate (TC), glycocholate (GC), cholate (C), tauroursodeoxycholate (TUDC), ursodeoxycholate (UDC) and hyodeoxycholate (HDC). Estimates of intrinsic hepatic clearance (Cl(int)), maximal secretory rate (Vmax) were provided from the analysis of the relationship between bile acid removal rates and sinusoidal concentration under steady-state conditions. TC and TUDC had the highest Cl(int) (about 5 ml/min/g liver) and Vmax (about 800 nmol/min/g liver) followed in order by GC (1.71 ml/min/g liver; 442 nmol/min/g liver); C (1.25 ml/min/g liver; 252 nmol/min/g liver); HDC (0.86 ml/min/g liver; 238 nmol/min/g liver); UDC (0.72 ml/min/g liver; 176 nmol/min/g liver). The findings suggest that the efficiency of the overall hepatic transport of bile acids is highly dependent on their molecular structure and that conjugation has a more important effect on both Cl(int) and Vmax that the number or position of hydroxyl groups.

Animals↗

Effective glucuronidation of 6 alpha-hydroxylated bile acids by human hepatic and renal microsomes.

The glucuronidation of bile acids is an established metabolic pathway in different human organs. The hepatic and renal UDP-glucuronyltransferase activities vary according to the bile acids concerned. Thus, hyodeoxycholic acid is clearly differentiated from other bile acids by its high rate of glucuronidation and elevated urinary excretion in man. To determine whether such in vivo observations are related to variations in bile acid structure, human hepatic and renal microsomes were prepared and time courses of bile acid glucuronidation measured with the bile acids possessing hydroxyl groups in different positions. Eleven [24-14C]bile acids were chosen or synthesized in respect of their specific combination of hydroxyl and oxo groups at the 3, 6, 7 and 12 positions and of their alpha or beta hydroxyl configurations. The results clearly demonstrate that bile acids with an hydroxyl group in the 6 alpha position underwent a high degree of glucuronidation. Apparent kinetic Km and Vmax values for UDP-glucuronyltransferase activities ranged over 78-66 microM and 1.8-3.3 nmol.min-1.mg-1 protein in the liver and over 190-19 microM and 0.5-9.2 nmol.min-1.mg-1 protein in the kidney. All the other bile acids tested, each of which possessed a 3 alpha-hydroxyl group and whose second or third hydroxyl was bound at the 6 beta, 7 or 12 positions, were glucuronidated to a degree far below that of the 6 alpha-hydroxylated bile acids. We conclude that an active and highly specific UDP-glucuronyltransferase activity for 6 alpha-hydroxylated bile acids exists in human liver and kidneys. Moreover, this activity results in the linkage of glucuronic acid to the 6 alpha-hydroxyl group and not to the usual 3 alpha-hydroxyl group of bile acids.

Bile Acids and Salts↗

beta-Muricholic acid; potentiometric and cholesterol-dissolving properties.

Some physicochemical properties of beta-muricholic acid (3 alpha,6 beta,7 beta-trihydroxy-5 beta-cholanic acid), a major bile acid biosynthesized by rat liver, were determined and compared to those of ursodeoxycholic and chenodeoxycholic acids. From potentiometric studies, the following characteristics of beta-muricholic acid were shown: a low monomer solubility (13 microM), a high equilibrium precipitation pH (7.92 for 30 mM solution), an apparent critical micellar concentration of 4 mM, and a very low micellar capacity of the bile salt to dissolve the protonated bile acid. Sodium beta-muricholate solution (30 mM) poorly solubilized cholesterol, as indicated by a bile salt/cholesterol molar ratio of 1430, whereas saturation ratios obtained with chenodeoxycholate and ursoseoxycholate were 24 and 384, respectively. Sodium beta-muricholate (30 mM)/phosphatidylcholine/cholesterol mixtures contained non-micellar aggregates from very low cholesterol concentrations. At physiological phosphatidylcholine concentrations, sodium beta-muricholate (100 mM) dissolved cholesterol crystals via essentially lamellar liquid-crystal formation. These solubilizing properties might have important physiological relevance to the dissolution of cholesterol gallstones in man.

Animals↗

Glucuronidation of bile acids in human liver, intestine and kidney. An in vitro study on hyodeoxycholic acid.

The activities of UDP-glucuronyl transferase(s) in homogenates and microsomal preparations of human liver, kidney and intestine were tested with hyodeoxycholic acid (HDC). The various kinetic parameters of the UDC-glucuronidation were determined from time course experiments. In both liver and kidney preparations, HDC underwent a very active metabolic transformation: liver Km = 78 microM, Vmax = 3.3 nmol . min-1 . mg-1 protein; kidney Km = 186 microM, Vmax = 9.9 nmol . min-1 . mg-1 protein. To our knowledge this is the first observation of both an extensive and comparable bile acid glucuronidation occurring in renal and hepatic tissues.

Bile Acids and Salts↗

Metabolism of beta-muricholic acid in man.

Labeled beta-muricholic acid was obtained from germfree rats given [24-14C]-chenodeoxycholic acid. It was crystallized with the same unlabeled bile acid extracted from germfree rat pooled biles. Five patients fitted with a T-tube after cholecystectomy were given orally 100 mg of the bile acid. Metabolites of beta-muricholic acid in bile, urine and feces were studied. Glyco- and tauro-beta-muricholic acid were the only metabolites detected in bile. The urinary bile acid pattern was complex and included free, glyco- and sulfoconjugated beta-muricholic acid, but no glucuronide was observed. Analysis of fecal bile acid showed very few metabolites: the 3 beta-epimer was identified; the 6 beta- and 7 beta-hydroxyls were apparently not transformed by human intestinal microflora.

Aged↗

Bioavailability, gastrointestinal transit, solubilization and faecal excretion of ursodeoxycholic acid in man.

The bioavailability of ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA), a cholesterolic gallstone dissolving agent, has been analysed in seven healthy human volunteers. After absorption of a capsule containing a 500 mg dose, the time course of plasma concentrations of the drug presented a double peak profile over a 240 min period. In order to explain this result, a second group of five subjects bearing a four-way jejunal catheter fitted with an occluding balloon, received an oral dose of 250, 500 or 750 mg of the drug. Simultaneous analyses of plasma UDCA concentrations and jejunal UDCA contents were carried out. UDCA is poorly soluble in the gastro-duodeno-jejunal contents of fasted subjects since 21-50% of the ingested doses were recovered in solid form. The profile of plasma concentration paralleled the amount of soluble UDCA present in intestinal lumen. When jejunal contents were infused below the balloon a second plasma peak appeared in cases corresponding to ingestion of higher doses of UDCA. In conclusion, pharmacological doses of UDCA are not readily soluble in the stomach and intestine of a healthy fasting man. In consequence, the bioavailability of the drug varies with its progressive solubilization in the gastrointestinal tract. The present results suggest that repeated daily doses of UDCA should improve its bioavailability in treated gallstone patients.

Adult↗

Intestinal absorption, excretion, and biotransformation of hyodeoxycholic acid in man.

Five patients fitted with a biliary T-tube after cholecystectomy were given orally a tracer dose of [14C]hyodeoxycholic acid and 500 mg of the same unlabeled acid. Intestinal absorption and biotransformation, liver metabolism, bile secretion, fecal and urinary excretions of this acid or of its metabolites were studied. Hyodeoxycholic acid was well absorbed by the human intestine. It was not subjected to intestinal transformations and, particularly, did not produce a significant amount of lithocholic acid, which does not support the existence of intestinal bacterial 6 alpha-dehydroxylases. The percentage of hyodeoxycholic acid and of its metabolites recovered in bile varied from 11.5 to 31%. Two major metabolites were isolated from bile: glycohyodeoxycholic acid and hyodeoxycholic acid glucuronide. Analysis of urinary bile acids showed that a large proportion (30-84%) of the administered hyodeoxycholic acid was excreted by the kidney as a glucuronide. The large extent of both glucuronidation and urinary excretion of hyodeoxycholic acid is a unique example of bile acid metabolism and excretion in man.

Adult↗

Pharmacokinetics and metabolism of [14C]ursodeoxycholic acid in the rat.

The pharmacokinetics and metabolism of [14C]ursodeoxycholic acid have been studied after intravenous and intraduodenal administrations of tracer doses to bile fistula rats. Control animals were fed a standard diet. Two other groups received the same diet added with UDCA (5 mg/kg body wt. per day) (group A) or (20 mg/kg body wt. per day) (group B) for 3 weeks. The plasma clearance in control and treated animals after intravenous injection of [14C]UDCA (2 microCi. 20 microgram) followed an identical biphasic exponential curve with t 1/2 of 2 and 30 min, respectively. Biliary excretion kinetics were dependent on the treatment; after 10 min of injection, the recovery of radioactivity in bile was 29.8, 19 and 10.9% in group B, A and control, respectively. After intraduodenal administration, the same dose of [14C]UDCA, was rapidly absorbed and excreted in bile. The kinetic process was modified by treatment; at the 30-min peak of radioactivity, the fraction of the dose excreted in bile was: controls, 51.2%; group A, 32.8% and group B, 35.3%. Biotransformation of [14C]UDCA after intravenous and intraduodenal administrations was similar in the three groups. Radioactivity was mainly found as the tauroconjugate of UDCA and less than 5% 14C was recovered as beta-muricholic acid. Bile composition was modified by the UDCA diet as follows: biliary bile acids increased and cholesterol decreased proportionally to the dose; the relative ratio of biliary bile acids was changed, UDCA represented at most 7% in the group B.

Animals↗

Noninvasive measurement of nutrient portal blood shunting: an experimental study with [14C]ursodeoxycholic acid.

All of the methods proposed for measuring portal blood flow are either invasive, estimate total rather than nutrient flow, and none has proved reliable in cirrhotic patients. A method has been derived from pharmacokinetic principles used for the calculation of bioavailability of drugs according to the route of administration (i.v. or p.o.) and tested experimentally in 20 pigs. A tracer dose of [14C]ursodeoxycholic acid, a biliary acid with a high-liver first-pass effect, is administered in the duodenum, and serial peripheral blood samples are taken. Later, the same dose of the same drug is administered i.v. The shunt fraction of portal blood F is obtained by the ratio of the areas under the plasma level vs. time curves ("AUC") after p.o. and i.v. administrations: (see formula in text). The pigs were divided into three experimental groups. (i) Group I: undisturbed portal flow; (ii) Group II: total diversion of portal blood with an end-to-side portacaval shunt, and (iii) Group III: partial diversion of portal blood through a side-to-side portacaval shunt. Portal flow was measured during surgery with an electromagnetic flowmeter above and below the shunt and the degree of shunting calculated. Results show that the shunt fraction measured with ursodeoxycholic acid is well-correlated with hemodynamic data. No overlap between Groups I and III is observed. It is concluded that the shunt fraction of nutrient portal blood can be measured with this noninvasive method. Minute amounts of ursodeoxycholic acid were used in order to be completely metabolized by the liver, even in spite of hepatocellular dysfunction. Therefore, this method should be valid in cirrhotic patients and be useful to decide the type of portasystemic shunt to propose for the decompression of gastroesophageal varices.

Animals↗