BACKGROUND Jaundice and cholestatic hepatic dysfunction are frequent findings in critically ill patients associated with increased mortality. Cholestasis in critically ill patients is closely associated with stimulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines resulting in impaired bile secretion and subsequent accumulation of bile acids. Aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical role of circulating ...

Dietary factors are considered important environmental risk determinants for colorectal cancer development. Epidemiological studies have shown that a high fat (or meat) intake is associated positively and a high starch, fibre (non-starch polysaccharide), vegetable and fruit intake negatively with colorectal cancer incidence. One mechanism by which these effects are possibly exerted is through t...

The apical sodium--dependent bile acid transporter (ASBT) is the main transporter to promote re-absorption of bile acids from the intestinal tract into the enterohepatic circulation. Inhibition of ASBT could increase the excretion of bile acids, thus increasing bile acid synthesis and consequently cholesterol consumption. Therefore, ASBT is an attractive target for developing new cholesterol-lo...

In a cell culture model of bile duct epithelial cells, the effect of prostaglandin E2, lithocholic acid and deoxycholic acid was studied. Bile acids and prostaglandin are administered postoperatively in biliary atresia empirically as choleretics. Prostaglandin E2 and the bile acids all had inhibitory effects on bile duct epithelial cells in culture. There is no clinical study proving the effica...

During cholestasis, bile acids are mainly excreted into the urine, but adaptive renal responses to cholestasis, especially molecular mechanisms for renal secretion of bile acids, have not been well understood. Organic anion transporters (OAT1 and OAT3) are responsible for membrane transport of anionic compounds at the renal basolateral membranes. In the present study, we investigated the pathop...

The influence of bile acid concentration on the growth of Bifidobacterium spp. and Lactobacillus spp. bacteria was demonstrated. Exposing these bacteria to the environment containing bile acid salts, and very poor in nutrients, leads to the disappearance of these microorganisms due to the toxic effect of bile acids. A multidimensional analysis of data in the form of principal component analysis...

Faecal bile acid excretion and intestinal transit time were studied in 18 children with inflammatory bowel disease in clinical remission and with normal stools: 16 with ulcerative colitis, two with Crohn's colitis, mean age 14 years (range 10-17 years). Five healthy children, mean age 12.4 years (range 10-17 years), were studied as control subjects. Most patients were taking sulphasalazine, but...

In a previous paper (XLVI of this series), the isolation of cyprinol and other three new bile sterols from the alkaline hydrolyzate of carp bile was reported. Also it was suggested that the chemical constitution of one of these new bile sterols would correspond to 3ƒ¿, 7ƒ¿, 12ƒ¿-trihydroxy-26, 27-epoxycholestane and the natural form of this new bile sterol might be 3ƒ¿,7ƒ¿,12ƒ¿,26,27-pentahydro...

The bile acid-sensitive ion channel (BASIC) is a member of the DEG/ENaC family of ion channels. Channels of this family are characterized by a common structure, their physiological functions and modes of activation, however, are diverse. Rat BASIC is expressed in brain, liver and intestinal tract and activated by bile acids. The physiological function of BASIC and its mechanism of bile acid act...

Unconjugated bile acids were measured using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry in the serum of two subjects throughout a 24 hour period and in two other subjects over a six hour period after breakfast. Unconjugated bile acids were found in all samples of serum and included cholic, chenodeoxycholic, deoxycholic, 3 beta, 7 alpha-dihydroxy-5 beta-cholanic (iso-chenodeoxycholic), ursodeoxycholic,...