Biliary lipid composition after liver transplantation: effect of allograft function and cyclosporine

Bile Composition as a Diagnostic and Prognostic Tool in Liver Transplantation

Bile secretion and composition reflects the functional status of hepatocytes and cholangiocytes. Bile composition can have a role in the assessment of donor grafts before implantation in the recipient. In addition, changes in bile composition after liver transplantation can serve as a diagnostic and prognostic tool to predict posttransplant complications, such as primary nonfunction, acute cellular rejection, or nonanastomotic biliary strictures. With the popularization of liver machine perfusion preservation in the clinical setting, there is a revisited interest in biliary biomarkers to assess graft viability before implantation. This review discusses current literature on biliary biomarkers that could predict or assess liver graft and bile duct viability. Bile composition offers an exciting and novel perspective in the search for reliable hepatocyte and cholangiocyte viability biomarkers.

High-resolution 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy analysis of bile samples obtained from a patient after orthotopic liver transplantation: new perspectives

The liver is involved in many synthetic and metabolic functions. It takes part in the regulation of circulation, thermoregulation, and digestion. All liver functions are disturbed during harvesting, preservation, and transplantation. The assessment of graft function is still a matter of concern. Many methods including analysis of hepatic enzymes, ketone body ratio, and level of drug metabolites do not give complete and reliable information on graft function. Liver biopsy is still the best diagnostic tool, however, it is invasive, carrying the risk of complications. High-resolution proton spectroscopy of nuclear magnetic resonance was used for analysis of the bile sample obtained from a patient after orthotopic liver transplantation.