Increased amounts of intestinal endotoxin are absorbed in obstructive jaundice. The precise mechanism is not known but the increased absorption may arise from alterations in the luminal contents, in the intestinal flora, in the gut wall or in interactions between all three. To examine the effects of the intestinal flora we have compared the morphological changes in the small intestine in obstru...

The effect of perfusion of an isolated rat liver on hepatic 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase was studied. In liver removed during the basal period of the diurnal cycle of enzyme activity, a 227 +/- 41% increase in enzyme activity occurred after 3 h of a plasma-free perfusion. This could be prevented by the addition of cycloheximide or pure cholesterol (dispersed with lecithin) to...

New carbene-generating photolabile bile salt derivatives, 3,3-azo-7 alpha,12 alpha-dihydroxy-5 beta [7 beta-3H]cholan-24-oic acid and (3,3-azo-7 alpha,12 alpha-dihydroxy-5 beta [7 beta-3H]cholan-24-oyl)-2- aminoethanesulfonic acid were synthesized with high specific radioactivity. These 3-diazirine-derivatives could be activated to the corresponding carbenes by irradiation with ultraviolet ligh...

Erythropoietic protoporphyria (EPP) is an inherited disorder of heme biosynthesis caused by partial ferrochelatase deficiency, resulting in protoporphyrin overproduction which is responsible for painful skin photosensitivity. Chronic liver disease is the most severe complication of EPP, requiring liver transplantation in some patients. Data from a mouse model suggest that cytotoxic bile formati...