Bile acid metabolism in isolated rat hepatocytes: studied by gas-liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry-selected ion monitoring

Bile acid transport and metabolism in rat liver slices

To further characterise precision-cut liver slices from 34- to 40-day-old male rats as an in vitro model for bile acid (BA) metabolism and transport, the effect of the primary BAs cholic (CA, 5 microM) and chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA, 0.15 and 0.75 microM) as well as of the therapeutically used tauroursodeoxycholic acid (T-UDCA, 5 microM) on BA profiles was investigated. After 4 h incubation in 5 ml Krebs-Henseleit buffer (KHB) 26 individual BAs were determined in slices (50 mg liver/5 ml KHB) and medium by HPLC with postcolumn derivatisation and fluorescence detection. In control incubations, mean total BA concentrations were 5.09 nmol/50 mg liver (101.80 nmol/g liver) in slices and 25.71 nmol/5 ml KHB, among them 72% taurine-(T-), 22% glycine-(G-) conjugated and 6% free BAs in tissue and medium. The main BAs were beta-muricholic (beta-MCA and conjugates) and cholic acids (CA and conjugates) in tissue and medium. The following results were obtained after addition of CDCA, CA, and T-UDCA, respectively, to the KHB. The toxic CDCA was quantitatively converted mainly to T-UDCA and taurohyodeoxycholic (T-HDCA) acid. CA was conjugated in equal shares to T- and G-CA, whereas T-UDCA was enriched in slices and hydroxylated half to T-beta-MCA, which is the main BA in rats. In conclusion, rat liver slices are highly effective not only in uptake, conjugation and excretion of BAs but also in conversion of strong detergent into less toxic BAs.

Bile acids in the assessment of hepatocellular function

Bile acids, which are synthesized in the liver from cholesterol, are important in the production of bile flow, excretion of cholesterol, and intestinal digestion and absorption of fats and fat-soluble vitamins. Increases and/or alterations in concentrations of bile acids in serum are specific and sensitive indicators of hepatobiliary disorders. Synthesis of bile acids in hepatocytes involves steps in endoplasmic reticulum, cytosol, mitochondria, and peroxisomes. Other important hepatocellular processes involving bile acids include active uptake by the basolateral membrane, intracellular transport, P-450-mediated conjugations and hydroxylations, and canalicular secretion. Hydrophobic bile acids produce hepatotoxicity in vivo and in vitro. In experimental and epidemiologic studies, some of these forms have been identified as causative agents in the development of colon and liver (experimental only) cancer. Conversely, several hydrophilic forms, primarily ursodeoxycholic acid, have demonstrated cytoprotective properties in a variety of clinical and experimental hepatobiliary diseases and disorders. Because bile acids can have dramatically different properties and effects, determination of mechanisms of action of these compounds has become an active area of research. Primary isolated hepatocytes provide an opportunity to investigate bile acid-related functions and effects in well-designed, carefully controlled studies. Short-term cultures have been used to study a variety of issues related to bile acids, including cytotoxicity, synthesis, and hepatocellular processing. With these systems, however, many functions of mature hepatocytes, including those pertaining to bile acids, can be lost when cultures are maintained for more than several days. Recent developments in culture techniques permit long-term maintenance of functionally stable, differentiated cells. Pertaining to bile acid research, these systems remain to be fully characterized but, in appropriate situations, they should provide important alternatives to in vivo studies and short-term in vitro assays.

Simultaneous determination of bile acids in rat bile and serum by high-performance liquid chromatography

A method for the simultaneous determination of bile acids in rat bile and serum by high-performance liquid chromatography with a post-column enzymic reaction and fluorescence detection has been developed. Without prior fractionation and alkaline hydrolysis, 26 unconjugated, glycine- and taurine-conjugated bile acids were determined. They were separated on a reversed-phase column using a linear gradient solvent system of 200 mM dibasic ammonium phosphate buffer (pH 7.9)-acetonitrile-methanol (73:19:8, v/v/v) and 20 mM dibasic ammonium phosphate buffer (pH 7.9)-acetonitrile-methanol (2:1:2, v/v/v). The limits of detection were 1-5 pmol, and calibration curves were linear for concentrations between 10 and 4000 pmol. This rapid and reliable method is effective for measuring bile acid levels in the bile and serum not only of rats but also of patients with hepatobiliary and other diseases.

Alteration of bile acid metabolism in two-thirds hepatectomized rat

Bile acid metabolism after two-thirds partial hepatectomy (PH) in rat was studied. Bile acid kinetics (i.e. synthesis rate and pool size) were determined by wash out method combined with gas liquid chromatography, and serum bile acids by gas liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Serum bile acid concentration was highest on the third day after PH, as the liver regeneration progressed but it gradually decreased with increasing cholic acid (CA)/chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA), reflecting impaired hepatic uptake of bile acids and/or cholestasis during the early post-hepatectomy period. Predominance of CA in bile acid synthesis, pool, and biliary secretion was also found. On the third day after PH, liver weight recovered to 66% of the control value, but enhancement of bile acid synthesis was not observed. Consequently, pool size remained at 50% of control. On the seventh day, synthesis of bile acid, especially of CA, was enhanced and pool size and liver weight returned to 68 and 72% of the respective control values. Bile acid synthesis was returned to the control value on the fourteenth day with concomitant restoration of liver weight and bile acid pool size. These changes in bile acid kinetics parallel the events during hepatic regeneration after PH.

Modulation of genotoxicity of azathioprine by intracellular glutathione in hepatocytes

The role of intracellular glutathione (GSH) against the genotoxicity of azathioprine (AZA) was examined by the use of rat hepatocytes and alkaline and neutral elution techniques. Treatment of hepatocytes with AZA for 3 h induced DNA fragmentation in alkaline conditions but not in neutral conditions. A dose-dependent increase in DNA single-strand breaks was observed with the treatment of AZA ranging from 0.3 mM to 1.0 mM with concomitant cytotoxicity. However, neither 6-mercaptopurine, which is a major metabolite of AZA, nor 6-mercaptopurine riboside, an active form of the former, induced the DNA damage at the same concentrations. Moreover, the elution rate of DNA fragmentation, even at low dose of AZA that is not cytotoxic, significantly increased in the presence of buthionine sulfoximine, which is a selective inhibitor of gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase; i.e., depletion of GSH in hepatocytes enhanced the DNA damage by AZA. Thus, AZA has been proved to be genotoxic, and the genotoxicity is likely to be protected by GSH present in hepatocytes, suggesting that GSH depletion potentiates the carcinogenic effect of AZA.

Distinct forms of cytochrome P-450 are responsible for 6 beta-hydroxylation of bile acids and of neutral steroids

Cytochrome P-450-dependent 6 beta-hydroxylation of bile acids in rat liver contributes to the synthesis of the quantitatively important pool of 6-hydroxylated bile acids, as well as to the detoxification of hydrophobic bile acids. The lithocholic acid 6 beta-hydroxylation reaction was investigated and compared with androstenedione 6 beta-hydroxylation. Differential responses of these two activities to inducers and inhibitors of microsomal P-450 enzymes, lack of mutual inhibition by the two substrates and differential inhibition by antibodies raised against several purified hepatic cytochromes P-450 were observed. From these results it was concluded that 6 beta-hydroxylation of lithocholic acid is catalysed by P-450 form(s) different from the subfamily IIIA cytochromes P-450 which are responsible for the bulk of microsomal androstenedione 6 beta-hydroxylation. Similar, but more tentative, results revealed that the 7 alpha-hydroxylation of lithocholic acid and of androstenedione may be also catalysed by distinct P-450 enzymes. The results indicate that cytochromes P-450 hydroxylating bile acids are distinct from analogous enzymes that carry out reactions of the same regio- and stereo-specificity on neutral steroids (steroid hormones). A comparison of pairs of cytochromes P-450 that catalyse the same reaction on closely related steroid molecules will help to define those structural elements in the proteins that determine the recognition of their respective substrates.

Bile acid synthesis and secretion by rabbit hepatocytes in primary monolayer culture: comparison with rat hepatocytes

Rabbit hepatocytes isolated after liver perfusion with collagenase were maintained in primary monolayer culture for periods up to 96 h. Bile acid synthesis and secretion was measured by capillary gas-liquid chromatography and by a rapid enzymatic-bioluminescence assay. As expected from the bile acid profile of rabbit gallbladder bile, cholic acid was the only bile acid synthesized in detectable amounts and was produced at a linear rate of 170 pmol/h per mg cell protein from 24 to 96 h in culture. Ketoconazole (20 microM) inhibited cholic acid synthesis and secretion by 78%, whereas the bile acids chenodeoxycholic acid (100 microM), deoxycholic acid (100 microM) or lithocholic acid (2 microM) had no effect. When rat hepatocytes were cultured under identical conditions, the rate of bile acid synthesis was found to be only 12 pmol/h per mg cell protein, a value in agreement with previous work. The large difference in rates of bile acid synthesis between rabbit and rat hepatocytes may be due to rapid loss of cytochrome P-450 from rat hepatocytes when placed in monolayer culture. Although reportedly active in cholesterol 7 alpha-hydroxylation, form 4 cytochrome P-450 levels in rabbit hepatocytes did not correlate with rates of bile acid synthesis.