Influence of Phosphatidylcholine and Calcium on Self-Association and Bile Salt Mixed Micellar Binding of the Natural Bile Pigment, Bilirubin Ditaurate.

Recently [Neubrand, M. W., et al.

Self-assembly of aqueous bilirubin ditaurate, a natural conjugated bile pigment, to contraposing enantiomeric dimers and M(-) and P(+) tetramers and their selective hydrophilic disaggregation by monomers and micelles of bile salts.

The solution behavior of bilirubin ditaurate (BDT), the first naturally occurring conjugated bile pigment to be physically and chemically characterized, was assessed in aqueous solution and in monomeric and micellar solutions of common taurine-conjugated bile salts (BS). Analytical ultracentrifugation revealed that BDT self-associates in monomer-dimer equilibria between 1 and 500 μM, forming limiting tetramers at low millimolar concentrations. Self-association was enthalpically driven with ΔG values of ≈5 kcal/mol, suggesting strong hydrophobic interactions.

Impaired cholecystokinin-induced gallbladder emptying incriminated in spontaneous "black" pigment gallstone formation in germfree Swiss Webster mice.

"Black" pigment gallstones form in sterile gallbladder bile in the presence of excess bilirubin conjugates ("hyperbilirubinbilia") from ineffective erythropoiesis, hemolysis, or induced enterohepatic cycling (EHC) of unconjugated bilirubin. Impaired gallbladder motility is a less well-studied risk factor. We evaluated the spontaneous occurrence of gallstones in adult germfree (GF) and conventionally housed specific pathogen-free (SPF) Swiss Webster (SW) mice.

Metastable and equilibrium phase diagrams of unconjugated bilirubin IXα as functions of pH in model bile systems: Implications for pigment gallstone formation.

Metastable and equilibrium phase diagrams for unconjugated bilirubin IXα (UCB) in bile are yet to be determined for understanding the physical chemistry of pigment gallstone formation. Also, UCB is a molecule of considerable biomedical importance because it is a potent antioxidant and an inhibitor of atherogenesis. We employed principally a titrimetric approach to obtain metastable and equilibrium UCB solubilities in model bile systems composed of taurine-conjugated bile salts, egg yolk lecithin (mixed long-chain phosphatidylcholines), and cholesterol as functions of total lipid concentration, biliary pH values, and CaCl2 plus NaCl concentrations.

Therapeutic uses of animal biles in traditional Chinese medicine: an ethnopharmacological, biophysical chemical and medicinal review.

Forty-four different animal biles obtained from both invertebrates and vertebrates (including human bile) have been used for centuries for a host of maladies in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) beginning with dog, ox and common carp biles approximately in the Zhou dynasty (c. 1046-256 BCE). Overall, different animal biles were prescribed principally for the treatment of liver, biliary, skin (including burns), gynecological and heart diseases, as well as diseases of the eyes, ears, nose, mouth and throat.

An analysis of the role of the indigenous microbiota in cholesterol gallstone pathogenesis.

Background And Aims: Cholesterol gallstone disease is a complex process involving both genetic and environmental variables. No information exists regarding what role if any the indigenous gastrointestinal microbiota may play in cholesterol gallstone pathogenesis and whether variations in the microbiota can alter cholesterol gallstone prevalence rates.

Methods: Genetically related substrains (BALB/cJ and BALB/cJBomTac) and (BALB/AnNTac and BALB/cByJ) of mice obtained from different vendors were compared for cholesterol gallstone prevalence after being fed a lithogenic diet for 8 weeks.

Augmented cholesterol absorption and sarcolemmal sterol enrichment slow small intestinal transit in mice, contributing to cholesterol cholelithogenesis.

Cholesterol gallstones are associated with slow intestinal transit in humans as well as in animal models, but the molecular mechanism is unknown. We investigated in C57L/J mice whether the components of a lithogenic diet (LD; 1.0% cholesterol, 0.

New pathophysiological concepts underlying pathogenesis of pigment gallstones.

Pigment gallstones, which are much less frequent than cholesterol stones, are classified descriptively as "black" or "brown". They are composed mostly of calcium hydrogen bilirubinate, Ca(HUCB)(2), which is polymerized and oxidized in "black" stones but remains unpolymerized in "brown" stones. Black stones form in sterile gallbladder bile but brown stones form secondary to stasis and anaerobic bacterial infection in any part of the biliary tree, including the gallbladder.

Hyperhomocysteinemia from trimethylation of hepatic phosphatidylethanolamine during cholesterol cholelithogenesis in inbred mice.

Unlabelled: Because hyperhomocysteinemia can occur in cholesterol gallstone disease, we hypothesized that this may result from trimethylation of phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), which partakes in biliary phosphatidylcholine (PC) hypersecretion during cholesterol cholelithogenesis. We fed murine strains C57L/J, C57BL/6J, SWR/J, AKR/J, PE N-methyltransferase (PEMT) knockout (KO), PEMT heterozygous (HET), and wildtype (WT) mice a cholesterol/cholic acid lithogenic diet (LD) for up to 56 days and documented biliary lipid phase transitions and secretion rates. We quantified plasma total homocysteine (tHcy), folate, and vitamin B12 in plasma and liver, as well as biliary tHcy and cysteine secretion rates.

Pathophysiological preconditions promoting mixed "black" pigment plus cholesterol gallstones in a DeltaF508 mouse model of cystic fibrosis.

Gallstones are frequent in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). These stones are generally "black" pigment (i.e.

Roles of infection, inflammation, and the immune system in cholesterol gallstone formation.

Cholesterol gallstone formation is a complex process mediated by genetic and environmental factors. Until recently, the role of the immune system in the pathogenesis of cholesterol gallstones was not considered a valid topic of research interest. This review collates and interprets an extensive body of basic literature, some of which is not customarily considered to be related to cholelithogenesis, describing the multiple facets of the immune system that appear to be involved in cholesterol cholelithogenesis.

Biliary lipids and cholesterol gallstone disease.

Biliary lipids are a family of four dissimilar molecular species consisting of a mixture of bile salts (substituted cholanoic acids), phospholipids, mostly (>96%) diacylphosphatidylcholines, unesterified cholesterol, and bilirubin conjugates known trivially as lipopigments. The primary pathophysiological defect in cholesterol gallstone disease is hypersecretion of hepatic cholesterol into bile with less frequent hyposecretion of bile salts and/or phospholipids. Several other gallbladder abnormalities contribute and include hypomotility, immune-mediated inflammation, hypersecretion of gelling mucins, and accelerated phase transitions; there is also reduced intestinal motility that augments "secondary" bile salt synthesis by the anaerobic microflora.

Hepatic insulin resistance directly promotes formation of cholesterol gallstones.

Despite the well-documented association between gallstones and the metabolic syndrome, the mechanistic links between these two disorders remain unknown. Here we show that mice solely with hepatic insulin resistance, created by liver-specific disruption of the insulin receptor (LIRKO mice) are markedly predisposed toward cholesterol gallstone formation due to at least two distinct mechanisms. Disinhibition of the forkhead transcription factor FoxO1, increases expression of the biliary cholesterol transporters Abcg5 and Abcg8, resulting in an increase in biliary cholesterol secretion.

Pathophysiological basis of liver disease in cystic fibrosis employing a DeltaF508 mouse model.

The molecular pathogenesis of cystic fibrosis (CF) liver disease is unknown. This study investigates its earliest pathophysiological manifestations employing a mouse model carrying DeltaF508, the commonest human CF mutation. We hypothesized that, if increased bile salt spillage into the colon occurs as in the human disease, then this should lead to a hydrophobic bile salt profile and to "hyperbilirubinbilia" because of induced enterohepatic cycling of unconjugated bilirubin.

Hepatic insulin resistance is sufficient to produce dyslipidemia and susceptibility to atherosclerosis.

Insulin resistance plays a central role in the development of the metabolic syndrome, but how it relates to cardiovascular disease remains controversial. Liver insulin receptor knockout (LIRKO) mice have pure hepatic insulin resistance. On a standard chow diet, LIRKO mice have a proatherogenic lipoprotein profile with reduced high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and very low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) particles that are markedly enriched in cholesterol.

T-cell function is critical for murine cholesterol gallstone formation.

Background & Aims: The formation of cholesterol gallstones is a complex process involving contributions from genes and environmental factors. Although gallbladder inflammation is believed to be common during cholelithogenesis, the role of immunologic factors is unknown.

Methods: The role of adaptive immunity in cholesterol cholelithogenesis was analyzed utilizing immunocompetent Helicobacter spp.

Genomic and expression analysis of multiple Sry loci from a single Rattus norvegicus Y chromosome.

Background: Sry is a gene known to be essential for testis determination but is also transcribed in adult male tissues. The laboratory rat, Rattus norvegicus, has multiple Y chromosome copies of Sry while most mammals have only a single copy. DNA sequence comparisons with other rodents with multiple Sry copies are inconsistent in divergence patterns and functionality of the multiple copies.

Quantifying anomalous intestinal sterol uptake, lymphatic transport, and biliary secretion in Abcg8(-/-) mice.

Unlabelled: Sitosterolemia is caused by mutations in either ABCG5 or ABCG8, but simultaneous mutations of these genes have never been observed. To explore whether ABCG8, the sterol efflux (hemi-)transporter, plays a major role in determining intestinal absorption efficiency and hepatic secretion rates of cholesterol and sitostanol, we performed direct measurements of the absorption and lymphatic transport of these sterols in mice with chronic biliary and lymphatic fistulae, as well as the transport rates of radiolabeled cholesterol and sitostanol from plasma high-density lipoprotein (HDL) into bile in male Abcg8(-/-) and wild-type mice. We observed that the absorption and lymphatic transport rates of radiolabeled cholesterol and sitostanol were increased by approximately 40% and approximately 500%, respectively, in Abcg8(-/-) mice in the setting of constant intraduodenal infusion of micellar taurocholate and lecithin.

Children's key concerns: piloting a qualitative approach to understanding their experience of mental health care.

This article reports the piloting of an approach to apply the principles of child involvement to service experience research. The approach aimed to systematically explore the service concerns of children who had received mental health care. Eleven children who had previously attended mental health services took part in focus groups to discuss their experience.

QTL mapping for genetic determinants of lipoprotein cholesterol levels in combined crosses of inbred mouse strains.

To identify additional loci that influence lipoprotein cholesterol levels, we performed quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping in offspring of PERA/EiJxI/LnJ and PERA/EiJxDBA/2J intercrosses and in a combined data set from both crosses after 8 weeks of consumption of a high fat-diet. Most QTLs identified were concordant with homologous chromosomal regions that were associated with lipoprotein levels in human studies. We detected significant new loci for HDL cholesterol levels on chromosome (Chr) 5 (Hdlq34) and for non-HDL cholesterol levels on Chrs 15 (Nhdlq9) and 16 (Nhdlq10).

Association of a lithogenic Abcg5/Abcg8 allele on Chromosome 17 (Lith9) with cholesterol gallstone formation in PERA/EiJ mice.

To examine further the genetic determinants of cholesterol gallstone susceptibility in inbred mice, we performed quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis of an intercross of gallstone-susceptible PERA/EiJ and gallstone-resistant DBA/2J inbred mice. Three hundred twenty-four F2 offspring were phenotyped for cholelithiasis during consumption of a lithogenic diet and genotyped using microsatellite markers. Linkage analysis was performed by interval mapping.

Helicobacter pylori and cholesterol gallstone formation in C57L/J mice: a prospective study.

Recently, we demonstrated that cholesterol gallstone-prone C57L/J mice rarely develop gallstones unless they are infected with certain cholelithogenic enterohepatic Helicobacter species. Because the common gastric pathogen H. pylori has been identified in the hepatobiliary tree of cholesterol gallstone patients, we wanted to ascertain if H.

Single and interacting QTLs for cholesterol gallstones revealed in an intercross between mouse strains NZB and SM.

Quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping was employed to investigate the genetic determinants of cholesterol gallstone formation in a large intercross between mouse strains SM/J (resistant) and NZB/B1NJ (susceptible). Animals consumed a gallstone-promoting diet for 18 weeks. QTL analyses were performed using gallstone weight and gallstone absence/presence as phenotypes; various models were explored for genome scans.

Identification of cholelithogenic enterohepatic helicobacter species and their role in murine cholesterol gallstone formation.

Background & Aims: Helicobacter spp are common inhabitants of the hepatobiliary and gastrointestinal tracts of humans and animals and cause a variety of well-described diseases. Recent epidemiologic results suggest a possible association between enterohepatic Helicobacter spp and cholesterol cholelithiasis, chronic cholecystitis, and gallbladder cancer. To test this, we prospectively investigated the effects of Helicobacter spp infection in cholesterol gallstone pathogenesis in the highly susceptible C57L/J mouse model.

Interfacial properties of most monofluorinated bile acids deviate markedly from the natural congeners: studies with the Langmuir-Pockels surface balance.

We characterized the air-water interfacial properties of four monofluorinated bile acids alone and in binary mixtures with a common lecithin, 1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (POPC), using an automated Langmuir-Pockels surface balance. We compared 7alpha-fluoromurocholic acid (FMCA), 7alpha-fluorohyodeoxycholic acid (FHDCA), 6alpha-fluoroursodeoxycholic acid (FUDCA), and 6alpha-fluorochenodeoxycholic acid (FCDCA) with their natural dihydroxy homologs, murocholic acid (MCA), hyodeoxycholic acid (HDCA), ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA), and chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA). For further comparison, two trihydroxy bile acids, 3alpha,6beta,7alpha-trihydroxycholanoic acid [alpha-muricholic acid (alpha-MCA)] and 3alpha,6alpha,7beta-trihydroxycholanoic acid [omega-muricholic acid (omega-MCA)], with isologous OH polar functions to FMCA and FUDCA were also studied.