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A study on the influence of bile acid chemical structure on dissolution of insoluble calcium salts: an in vitro study of the use of bile acid-phosphatidylcholine-cholesterol model bile solution.

The influence of bile acid chemical structure on dissolution of insoluble calcium salts and the reducing effect of ionized calcium was studied. Various bile acids were used to compound model bile acid-phosphatidylcholine-cholesterol model bile solutions. After CaCO3 was added to these solutions, both total calcium solubility and ionized calcium concentration in the solutions were measured. Dihydroxy bile acid is more effective than trihydroxy bile acid and 7 alpha-hydroxy bile acid is more effective than 7 beta-hydroxy bile acid, with regard to calcium solubility and the reducing effect of ionized calcium in model bile solution. Glutamic or asparaginic acid conjugates are more effective than glycine or taurine conjugates. Therefore, calcium solubility and the reducing effect of ionized calcium in model bile solutions are dependent on the number and orientation of hydroxy groups on the steroid nucleus as well as electrical charge of conjugating amino acid of bile acid. Chenodeoxycholic acid conjugated with glutamic or asparginic acid possesses high calcium solubility and large binding capacity with ionized calcium.

Bile↗

Changes in bile acid composition of serum and gallbladder bile in bile duct ligated dogs.

Biliary obstruction was produced by surgical ligation of the common bile duct to observe alterations in serum bile acid composition. The percent composition of serum bile acids was found to change with time. Taurocholic acid increased on day 3 and accounted for more than 90% of the total bile acids in all dogs, however it decreased after day 7. The percentage of taurochenodeoxycholic acid (TCDC) and taurodeoxycholic acid (TDC) decreased to 4.2-6.0% and 0.2-0.7% on day 3, respectively. However, the percentage of TCDC increased after day 7 in all dogs and reached greater than 20% on day 14 in 2 dogs, whereas the percent TDC after bile duct ligation remained low in all dogs. Glycolithocholic acid, which was not identified in normal dog sera, was detected on day 3 and remained throughout the study in all dogs. Bile acid composition of gallbladder bile sampled on day 35 was similar to the serum bile acid composition on the same day. This indicates that the bile acids refluxed into the circulation in these dogs. In the present study, total cholic acid to chenodeoxycholic acid (C:CDC) ratio increased to 15.5-22.3 at three days post bile duct ligation and after the day 14, the C:CDC ratio decreased to its pre-ligation value or below. In contrast, the glycine conjugated to taurine conjugated bile acids (G:T) ratio did not change. Therefore, at this time, the G:T ratio would not be usable as an indicator of liver disease in dogs while it may be possible to use the C:CDC ratio.

Animals↗

Influence of total lipid concentration, bile salt:lecithin ratio, and cholesterol content on inter-mixed micellar/vesicular (non-lecithin-associated) bile salt concentrations in model bile.

We modified classic equilibrium dialysis methodology to correct for dialysant dilution and Donnan effects, and have systematically studied how variations in total lipid concentration, bile salt (taurocholate):lecithin (egg yolk) ratio, and cholesterol content influence inter-mixed micellar/vesicular (non-lecithin-associated) concentrations (IMC) of bile salts (BS) in model bile. To simulate large volumes of dialysant, the total volume (1 ml) of model bile was exchanged nine times during dialysis. When equilibrium was reached, dialysate BS concentrations plateaued, and initial and final BS concentrations in the dialysant were identical. After corrections for Donnan effects, IMC values were appreciably lower than final dialysate BS concentrations. Quasielastic light scattering was used to validate these IMC values by demonstrating that lipid particle sizes and mean scattered light intensities did not vary when model biles were diluted with aqueous BS solutions of the appropriate IMC. Micelles and vesicles were separated from cholesterol-supersaturated model bile, utilizing high performance gel chromatography with an eluant containing the IMC. Upon rechromatography of micelles and vesicles using an identical IMC, there was no net transfer of lipid between micelles and vesicles. To simulate dilution during gel filtration, model biles were diluted with 10 mM Na cholate, the prevailing literature eluant, resulting in net transfer of lipid between micelles and vesicles, the direction of which depended upon total lipid concentration and BS/lecithin ratio. Using the present methodology, we demonstrated that inter-mixed micellar/vesicular concentrations (IMC) values increased strongly (5 to 40 mM) with increases in both bile salt (BS):lecithin ratio and total lipid concentration, whereas variations in cholesterol content had no appreciable effects. For model biles with typical physiological biliary lipid compositions, IMC values exceeded the critical micellar concentration of the pure BS, implying that in cholesterol-supersaturated biles, simple BS micelles coexist with mixed BS/lecithin/cholesterol micelles and cholesterol/lecithin vesicles. We believe that this methodology allows the systematic evaluation of IMC values, with the ultimate aim of accurately separating micellar, vesicular, and potential other cholesterol-carrying particles from native bile.

Bile↗

High pressure liquid chromatographic analysis of conjugated bile acids in human bile: simultaneous resolution of sulfated and unsulfated lithocholyl amidates and the common conjugated bile acids.

A reversed phase high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) system capable of simultaneously separating four lithocholyl species (sulfated and unsulfated forms of lithocholylglycine and lithocholyltaurine) as well as the eight other major conjugated bile acids present in human bile is described. The system uses a C18 octadecylsilane column and isocratic elution with methanol phosphate buffer, pH 5.35. Relative bile acid concentration is determined by absorbance at 200 nm. Retention times relative to chenodeoxycholylglycine are reported for the four lithocholic acid forms, the glycine and taurine amidate of the four major bile acids present in human bile (cholic, chenodeoxycholic, ursodeoxycholic, and deoxycholic), and for their corresponding unconjugated forms. Retention times are also reported for the glycine and taurine amidates as well as the unconjugated form of the C23 norderivatives of these bile acids. Maximal absorbance of bile acid amidates is at 200 nm and is very similar for the (unsulfated) glycine and taurine amidates. Sulfated lithocholyl amidates exhibit molar absorptivities at 200 nm which are 1.4 times greater than that of non-sulfated lithocholyl amidates. Unconjugated bile acid absorbance at 200 nm or 210 nm is 20 to 30 times less than that of corresponding peptide conjugates. The method has been applied to samples of gallbladder bile obtained from 14 healthy subjects to define the pattern of conjugated bile acids present in human bile.

Bile↗

Bile acid composition in snake bile juice and toxicity of snake bile acids to rats.

We determined the bile acid profiles in bile juice of snake gallbladders by HPLC on a silica gel RP-18 reversed-phase column. Cholic acid and chenodeoxycholic acid were predominant components in three of four snake species. To elucidate the toxic effect of snake bile acids on rats, a synthetic bile acid mixture was prepared mimicking the bile acid composition of a snake Naja naja atra bile juice. Twenty-four male Wistar rats were divided into four groups and treated orally at 3-day intervals with saline (control group) and different doses (1-3x doses) of the bile acid mixture. After treatment, the following parameters increased: the relative ratios of liver and kidney mass to body mass, the concentrations of red blood cell, hemoglobin and hematocrit in the blood, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, plasma urea nitrogen and creatinine in the plasma, and the levels of urine urea nitrogen and creatinine in the urine. Body mass of rats and the levels of Na+, K+, Ca++ in the urine of rats were significantly decreased, especially for groups treated with 2x and 3x doses of the bile acid mixture. Examination of liver and kidney pathology also showed cell enlargement and lesion in cell integrity in treated groups, especially for groups treated with 2x and 3x bile acid mixture, indicating that short-term toxicity of snake N. naja atra bile acids was significant in rats.

Administration, Oral↗

Effects of cholic acid, chenodeoxycholic acid, and their related bile acids on cholesterol, phospholipid, and bile acid levels in serum, liver, bile, and feces of rats.

Effects of sodium cholate, deoxycholate, chenodeoxycholate, and lithocholate on serum and liver cholesterol levels, bile flow, biliary cholesterol, phospholipids, and bile acids, and fecal sterols and bile acids were examined in Wistar strain male rats fed either an ordinary diet or a 2% cholesterol diet. Cholate and deoxycholate increased serum and liver cholesterol levels, serum pre beta-lipoprotein, bile flow, and biliary secretion of cholesterol, phospholipids, and bile acids, but chenodeoxycholate and lithocholate did not. The total amounts of sterols and of bile acids in the feces did not differ between the cholate and the chenodeoxycholate groups. All the bile acids except lithocholate decreased fecal coprostanol when the diet included cholesterol. Cholate and deoxycholate produced similar bile acid compositions in the bile and feces, as was the case between chenodeoxycholate and lithocholate, though chenodeoxycholate slightly increased the amount of muricholic acids, and lithocholate that of hyodeoxycholic acid, in the feces. The effects of cholate and deoxycholate are similar to each other but different from that of chenodeoxycholate or lithocholate in rats. Cholate causes marked accumulation of cholesterol in tissues, increased bile flow and biliary lipid secretion but chenodeoxycholate does not. Cholate is absorbed much more efficiently than chenodeoxycholate.

Animals↗

Pancreatic enzymes in the epithelium of intrahepatic large bile ducts and in hepatic bile in patients with extrahepatic bile duct obstruction.

AIM: To determine whether pancreatic enzymes are present in hepatic bile and in intrahepatic bile duct epithelium. METHODS: The activity and proteins of pancreatic enzymes (pancreatic alpha-amylase, lipase, trypsin/trypsinogen) in hepatic bile were investigated using biochemical and western blot analyses in 25 patients with extrahepatic bile duct obstruction. Immunolocalization of enzyme proteins was evaluated by immunohistochemistry in 20 necropsy livers with extrahepatic bile duct obstruction. RESULTS: Western blot analysis showed proteins of pancreatic alpha-amylase, lipase, and trypsin in 19 of 25 (76%), 10 of 25 (40%), and 14 of 25 (56%) patients, respectively. Pancreatic alpha-amylase and lipase activities was present in every bile specimen. Radioimmunoassay showed that trypsin was present in every bile sample. Immunohistochemically, the immunoreactivity of the three enzymes was present in epithelia and in the lumina of intrahepatic large bile ducts, septal bile ducts, and peribiliary glands in all cases. CONCLUSIONS: These results strongly suggest that biliary epithelia of larger intrahepatic ducts produce pancreatic alpha-amylase, lipase, and trypsin, and that these enzymes are secreted into the lumina of intrahepatic bile ducts.

Aged↗

The effect of thyroid hormone on bile salt-independent bile flow and Na+, K+ -ATPase activity in liver plasma membranes enriched in bile canaliculi.

The relationship between bile salt-independent canalicular flow and ATPase activity in liver plasma membranes (LPM) enriched in bile canaliculi, was studied in control, hyperthyroid, and hypothyroid rats. Canalicular bile production was significantly increased in hyperthyroid rats (3.19 +/- 0.23 mul/min per g liver) compared to controls (2.27 +/- 0.24 mul/min per g liver), while it diminished in hypothyroid animals (1.58 +/- 0.17 mul/min per g liver). Although bile salt excretion was also increased in hyperthyroid animals (62.4 +/- 13.3 vs. 41.2 +/- 8.4 nmol/min per g liver), the stimulation in canalicular secretion was primarily related to enhancement of the bile salt-independent fraction of flow (2.47 mul/min per g liver in hyperthyroid rats vs. 1.67 mul/min per g liver in controls). LPM Na+, K+-ATPase activity doubled in hyperthyroid animals (21.5 +/- 5.8 vs. 10.7 +/- 3.1 mumol Pi/mg protein per h) while Mg++-ATPase activity remained unchanged and 5'-nucleotidase activity increased to a small but significant extent. In hypothyroid rats, bile salt excretion remained unchanged from control values so that the reduced secretion was entirely secondary to an inhibition of bile salt-independent secretion (1.19 mul/min per g liver). Na+, K+-ATPase activity in the LPMs from hypothyroid animals decreased by nearly 50% (5.4 +/- 1.6 mumol Pi/mg protein per h), although comparable reductions in the specific activity of Mg++-ATPase and 5'-nucleotidase were also observed. Administration of L-thyroxine to hypothyroid animals restored both bile salt-independent canalicular secretion and membrane enzymes to control values within 2 and 4 days, respectively. Sodium dodecyl sulfate gel electrophoresis demonstrated no significant changes in LPM protein fractions from any of the treatment groups. These studies indicate that thyroid hormone has a parallel effect on bile salt-independent canalicular secretion and LPM Na+, K+-ATPase activity, supporting the hypothesis that Na+ transport and Na+, K+-ATPase may be determinants of bile salt-independent canalicular flow.

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗

Mechanism and regulation of hepatic bile production. With special reference to the bile acid-independent canalicular bile formation.

The main purpose of the present study was to examine the mechanism and regulation of hepatic bile acid-independent canalicular bile production. The experiments were performed on fasted, anesthetized intact cats and rats with acute bile fistulae, on perfused rat livers and with isolated liver plasma membranes from these species. The effect of insulin and glucagon on bile production was examined. The possible role of Na, K-ATPase for bile production was studied by administration of inhibitors (ouabain, vanadate) of this enzyme. Also the effect of insulin and glucagon on hepatic Na, K-ATPase was examined. Finally, the literature describing this field is reviewed and discussed in relation to the findings of the present experiments. It is concluded, that a part of the canalicular bile is produced independently of bile acid secretion and that the formation of this fraction can be stimulated by insulin and glucagon via a direct action of the hormones on the liver. It seems that interaction between the two canalicular fractions of bile formation is possible. The mechanism of bile acid-independent canalicular bile formation is still unsettled and conclusive evidence for the direct involvement of hepatic Na, K-ATPase in the secretion of this fraction is lacking.

Animals↗

Regulation of bile acid synthesis. I. Effects of conjugated ursodeoxycholate and cholate on bile acid synthesis in chronic bile fistula rat.

Bile acid synthesis is thought to be regulated by a negative feedback mechanism which is presumably dependent upon the flux of bile acids in the enterohepatic circulation. To characterize further the role of bile acids in regulation of bile acid synthesis, we have administered pure taurine or glycine conjugates of ursodeoxycholic acid or cholic acid to chronic bile fistula rats by continuous intraduodenal infusion, thus simulating restoration of the enterohepatic circulation. The effects of these bile salt infusions on bile acid synthesis, biliary cholesterol and phospholipid secretion and on the activities of the hepatic microsomal enzymes cholesterol 7 alpha-hydroxylase and HMG-CoA reductase were evaluated. Because the rate of biliary bile salt secretion in rats with intact exteriorized enterohepatic circulation averaged 27.1 +/- 1.4 mumoles per 100 gm rat per hr, infusion rates for bile fistula studies were chosen to match (24 to 36 mumoles per 100 gm rat per hr) or exceed (48 mumoles per 100 gm rat per hr) this physiological flux. Infusion of tauroursodeoxycholic acid for 48 hr at 24 and 48 mumoles per 100 gm rat per hr failed to suppress cholic acid synthesis. Bile flow and biliary cholesterol and phospholipid secretion exhibited small, dose-dependent increases with tauroursodeoxycholic acid infusions. No suppression of cholesterol 7 alpha-hydroxylase or HMG-CoA reductase activity was observed. By contrast, taurocholic acid inhibited synthesis of chenodeoxycholate and its metabolites alpha- and beta-muricholate by 10% (NS), 66% (p less than 0.05) and 75% (p less than 0.05) at infusion rates of 24, 36 and 48 mumoles per 100 gm rat per hr, respectively.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗

Enterohepatic circulation of bile salts in farnesoid X receptor-deficient mice: efficient intestinal bile salt absorption in the absence of ileal bile acid-binding protein.

The bile salt-activated farnesoid X receptor (FXR; NR1H4) controls expression of several genes considered crucial in maintenance of bile salt homeostasis. We evaluated the physiological consequences of FXR deficiency on bile formation and on the kinetics of the enterohepatic circulation of cholate, the major bile salt species in mice. The pool size, fractional turnover rate, synthesis rate, and intestinal absorption of cholate were determined by stable isotope dilution and were related to expression of relevant transporters in the livers and intestines of FXR-deficient (Fxr-/-) mice. Fxr-/- mice showed only mildly elevated plasma bile salt concentrations associated with a 2.4-fold higher biliary bile salt output, whereas hepatic mRNA levels of the bile salt export pump were decreased. Cholate pool size and total bile salt pool size were increased by 67 and 39%, respectively, in Fxr-/- mice compared with wild-type mice. The cholate synthesis rate was increased by 85% in Fxr-/- mice, coinciding with a 2.5-fold increase in cholesterol 7alpha-hydroxylase (Cyp7a1) and unchanged sterol 12alpha-hydroxylase (Cyp8b1) expression in the liver. Despite a complete absence of ileal bile acid-binding protein mRNA and protein, the fractional turnover rate and cycling time of the cholate pool were not affected. The calculated amount of cholate reabsorbed from the intestine per day was approximately 2-fold higher in Fxr-/- mice than in wild-type mice. Thus, the absence of FXR in mice is associated with defective feedback inhibition of hepatic cholate synthesis, which leads to enlargement of the circulating cholate pool with an unaltered fractional turnover rate. The absence of ileal bile acid-binding protein does not negatively interfere with the enterohepatic circulation of cholate in mice.

Animals↗

Bile salts of the West Indian manatee, Trichechus manatus latirostris: novel bile alcohol sulfates and absence of bile acids.

The bile salts present in gallbladder bile of the West Indian manatee, Trichechus manatus latirostris, an herbivorous marine mammal of the tropical and subtropical margins of the Atlantic Ocean, were found to consist of a mixture of bile alcohol sulfates. Bile acids, previously believed to be present in all mammals, were not detected. Using chromatography, mass spectrometry, and 1H- and 13C-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, the major bile alcohol was identified as 5 beta-cholestane-3 alpha,6 beta,7 alpha-25,26-pentol; that is, it had the nuclear structure of alpha-muricholic acid and the side chain structure of bufol. This compound has not been described previously and the trivial name "alpha-trichechol" is proposed. The second most abundant compound was 5 beta-cholestane-3 alpha,7 alpha,25,26-tetrol. Other bile alcohols were tentatively identified as 5 beta-cholestane-3 alpha,6 beta,7 beta,25,26-pentol (named beta-trichechol), 3 alpha,6 alpha,7 beta, 25-26-pentol (named omega-trichechol) and 5 beta-cholestane-3 alpha,6 beta,7 alpha,26-tetrol. The 1H and 13C NMR spectra of the four 6,7 epimers of 3,6,7 trihydroxy bile acids are described and discussed. All bile alcohols were present as ester sulfates, the sulfate group being tentatively assigned to the 26-hydroxy group. 12-Hydroxy compounds were not detected. The manatee is the first mammal found to lack bile acids, presumably because it lacks the enzymes required for oxidation of the 26-hydroxy group to a carboxylic acid. Trichechols, like other bile salts, are water-soluble end products of cholesterol metabolism; whether they also function as biological surfactants in promoting biliary cholesterol secretion or lipid digestion is unknown.

Animals↗

Neither intestinal sequestration of bile acids nor common bile duct ligation modulate the expression and function of the rat ileal bile acid transporter.

The regulatory responses of bile acid (BA) transport in the terminal ileum to perturbations in BA homeostasis are complex, and conflicting results have been reported by different investigators. These studies were designed to examine the response of this system to a reduction in ileal bile salt concentrations at both a functional and molecular level. Common bile duct ligation (BDL) or feeding of a novel bile acid-binding compound, GT31-104HB, for 7 days were used to reduce ileal apical membrane bile salt flux. Apical bile acid transport function was assessed by examining sodium-dependent uptake of [3H]-taurocholate (TC) into brush border membrane vesicles (BBMV). Expression of the apical sodium-dependent bile acid transporter (ASBT) and the ileal lipid-binding protein (ILBP) were assessed by Western blotting with quantitation using [125I]-labeled secondary antibody and a phosphorimager. Neither common BDL nor intestinal sequestration of BA led to a change in ileal bile acid transport function or the expression of the ASBT or the ILBP. These results indicate that a reduction in presentation of bile salts to the apical surface of the terminal ileum does not modulate the expression of the genes involved in their transport.

Allylamine↗

Microbial transformation of bile acids. A unified scheme for bile acid degradation, and hydroxylation of bile acids.

Through the isolation and identification of a wide variety of degradation products formed from bile acids by microorganisms, a unified scheme for the complete degradation of bile acids to carbon dioxide and water has been proposed and discussed. The proposed degradative pathways mainly consist of the following steps: natural C24 3-hydroxy bile acids leads to 3-oxo bile acids leads to delta 4-3-oxo bile acids leads to C16 or C18 perhydroindane derivative (at least in two ways) leads to (4 epsilon)-4-methyl-5-oxo-octanedioic acid (at least in three ways) leads to CO2 and H2O. A microbial hydroxylation method for the preparation of bile acid samples was investigated which could be used as reference standards in the analysis of bile acids in biological materials and also as materials for studying the function of bile acids. The particular fungi, Curcularia lunata NRRL-2380, Helicostylum piriforme ATTC-8992 and Pestalotia foedans ATCC-11817 effected the 1 beta-, 11 beta-, 12 beta-, 15 alpha- or 15 beta-hydroxylation of certain bile acids and gave the following products: 1 beta, 3 alpha-, 3 alpha, 12 beta- and 3 alpha, 15 beta-dihydroxy-5 beta-cholan-24-oic acids, 3 alpha, 12 beta, 15 alpha- and 3 alpha, 12 beta, 15 beta-trihydroxy-5 beta-cholan-24-oic acids and 12 beta, 15 beta-dihydroxy-3-oxo-5 beta-cholan-24-oic acids from lithocholic acid; 1 beta, 3 alpha, 12 alpha- and 3 alpha, 12 alpha, 15 beta-trihydroxy-5 beta-cholan-24-oic acids and 3 alpha, 11 beta-dihydroxy-12-oxo-5 beta-cholan-24-oic acid from deoxycholic acid; 3 alpha, 7 alpha, 12 beta-trihydroxy-5 beta-cholan-24-oic acid and 3 alpha, 7 alpha, 12 beta, 15 alpha-tetrahydroxy-5 beta-cholan-24-oic acid from chenodeoxycholic acid; 3 alpha-6 alpha, 12 beta- and 3 alpha, 6 alpha, 15 beta-trihydroxy-5 beta-cholan-24-oic acids from hyodeoxycholic acid; 3 alpha, 7 beta, 12 beta trihydroxy-5 beta-cholan-24-oic acid from ursodeoxycholic acid; 3 alpha, 12 beta-dihydroxy-7-oxo-5 beta-cholan-24-oic acid from 3 alpha-hydroxy-7-oxo-5 beta-cholan-24-oic acid. Some of these products were new compounds and their structures were determined.

Bacteria↗

Consequences of intraperitoneal bile: bile ascites versus bile peritonitis.

Recent experience with patients with bile ascites and bile peritonitis prompted a review of other case histories in the medical literature of these conditions. The clinical courses of 24 patients with bile ascites and 34 with bile peritonitis were reviewed. Bile ascites occurred most often as a postoperative complication of biliary tract operations and also occasionally after trauma. Clinical signs were minimal except for abdominal distention, and operations were delayed for an average of 30 days. Peritoneal fluid was sterile in the 11 patients studied. In contrast, bile peritonitis occurred most commonly after spontaneous perforation of the gallbladder or hepatic ducts but also after trauma. All patients had severe signs of peritoneal irritation, and operation was performed earlier, at a mean of 4 days after onset of symptoms. Of 11 patients with specimens of their peritoneal fluid cultured, 6 had sterile fluid and 5 had bacteria. Although both bile salt concentration and bacteria have been implicated in the development of bile peritonitis rather than bile ascites, our understanding of the mechanisms involved is still incomplete.

Adolescent↗

The effect of secretin on bile flow and bile acid and bilirubin excretion following relief of prolonged bile duct obstruction in the rat.

Bile flow was re-established in rats whose bile ducts had been obstructed for 5, 10, 15 and 28 days (Groups I, II, III and IV, n = 5). The effect of i.v. secretin on bile flow in control rats, whose bile ducts had been cannulated, was minimal, but in cholestatic rats there was an immediate response which was related to the duration of the obstruction and the degree of bile duct proliferation. In 40 min the mean excess bile flow production amounted to 76, 258, 320 and 432 microliters/100 g body wt. in Groups I, II, III and IV, respectively. Choleresis was prolonged in the Group IV rats that had developed cirrhosis. Synthetic secretin had a minimal effect on bile acid and bilirubin excretion. It is postulated that the proliferating bile ductules are the site of secretin choleresis, although the possibility that reduced inactivation of the hormone plays a role cannot be excluded.

Animals↗

Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry of isobutyl ester trimethylsilyl ether derivatives of bile acids and application to the study of bile sterol and bile acid biosynthesis in rat liver epithelial cell lines.

The derivatization of bile acids into trimethylsilyl ether isobutyl ester (IBTMS) and of neutral sterols into trimethylsilyl ether (TMS) allowed the separation on an OV-1 capillary gas chromatography column of 15 bile steroids as follows: cholesterol, 7 alpha-hydroxycholesterol, 6 beta-hydroxycholesterol, 6 alpha-hydroxycholesterol, 7 beta-hydroxycholesterol, lithocholate, deoxycholate, 25-hydroxycholesterol, chenodeoxycholate, cholate, murocholate, hyodeoxycholate, ursodeoxycholate, hyocholate, and beta-muricholate. Fragmentation data of the coupled gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric (GC-MS) analysis of these nine bile acids as IBTMS derivatives under electron impact and chemical ionizations (methane, isobutane, and ammonia) are given. The ammonia chemical ionization appears to be the best mode for compound identification and quantitation due to fragmentations into high mass ions. The comparison of methylene units of the five sterols as TMS derivatives and of each type of methyl, TMS, or isobutyl ester of the nine bile acids as TMS ethers showed that isobutyl esterification increased dramatically the retention time of the bile acids, allowing their separation after the neutral sterols. Different methods of GC-MS analysis were applied to the study of bile steroid secretion in long-term rat liver epithelial cell lines, either serum-supplemented cell lines or serum-free cell lines, growing in serum-free medium since the primary explanation or after adaptation of serum-supplemented lines to this medium. It is demonstrated for the first time that liver epithelial cell lines maintain the metabolic pathway leading from synthesized cholesterol to dioxygenated sterols and the two normal main primary bile acids of the liver, chenodeoxycholic acid and cholic acid, up to 32-47% of the in vivo daily rate, and in addition the production of alpha-muricholic acid, the bile acid marker of murine liver.

Animals↗

The effects of colchicine on secretion into bile of bile salts, phospholipids, cholesterol and plasma membrane enzymes: bile salts are secreted unaccompanied by phospholipids and cholesterol.

Colchicine, a drug which interferes with microtubular function, has no effect on the secretion of taurodehydrocholate into bile; it is therefore suggested that bile salts are unlikely to be packaged in vesicles during cellular transit from sinusoidal to canalicular membranes. Colchicine greatly reduces the secretion of phospholipid and cholesterol into bile; it is suggested that this is due to an interruption in the supply of vesicles bringing lipids to repair the canalicular membrane during bile salt output. In the absence of the protective effect of a continuous supply of repair vesicles, micelleforming bile salts damage the canalicular membrane; the increased concentration of plasma membrane enzymes in bile and the increased aspartate aminotransferase activity in plasma and bile are evidence of this damage. Damage to the canalicular membrane may also be an explanation for the reduction in taurocholate transport and the taurocholate-induced cholestasis which are seen with colchicine-treated livers. Such membrane damage is not observed in colchicine-treated livers during the secretion of the non-micelle forming bile salt, taurodehydrocholate.

Animals↗