Sex-linked differences in bile acid metabolism of germfree rats

Bile acids and salt-sensitive hypertension: a role of the gut-liver axis

Salt-sensitivity of blood pressure (SSBP) affects 50% of the hypertensive and 25% of the normotensive populations. Importantly, SSBP is associated with increased risk for mortality in both populations independent of blood pressure. Despite its deleterious effects, the pathogenesis of SSBP is not fully understood. Emerging evidence suggests a novel role of bile acids in salt-sensitive hypertension and that they may play a crucial role in regulating inflammation and fluid volume homeostasis. Mechanistic evidence implicates alterations in the gut microbiome, the epithelial sodium channel (ENaC), the farnesoid X receptor, and the G protein-coupled bile acid receptor TGR5 in bile acid-mediated effects on cardiovascular function. The mechanistic interplay between excess dietary sodium-induced alterations in the gut microbiome and immune cell activation, bile acid signaling, and whether such interplay may contribute to the etiology of SSBP is still yet to be defined. The main goal of this review is to discuss the potential role of bile acids in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease with a focus on salt-sensitive hypertension.

Muricholic acids inhibit Clostridium difficile spore germination and growth

Infections caused by Clostridium difficile have increased steadily over the past several years. While studies on C. difficile virulence and physiology have been hindered, in the past, by lack of genetic approaches and suitable animal models, newly developed technologies and animal models allow these processes to be studied in detail. One such advance is the generation of a mouse-model of C. difficile infection. The development of this system is a major step forward in analyzing the genetic requirements for colonization and infection. While important, it is equally as important in understanding what differences exist between mice and humans. One of these differences is the natural bile acid composition. Bile acid-mediated spore germination is an important step in C. difficile colonization. Mice produce several different bile acids that are not found in humans. These muricholic acids have the potential to impact C. difficile spore germination. Here we find that the three muricholic acids (α-muricholic acid, β-muricholic acid and ω-muricholic acid) inhibit C. difficile spore germination and can impact the growth of vegetative cells. These results highlight an important difference between humans and mice and may have an impact on C. difficile virulence in the mouse-model of C. difficile infection.

Simultaneous characterization of bile acids and their sulfate metabolites in mouse liver, plasma, bile, and urine using LC-MS/MS

Sulfation is a major metabolic pathway involved in the elimination and detoxification of bile acids (BAs). Several lines of evidence are available to support the role of sulfation as a defensive mechanism to attenuate the toxicity of accumulated BAs during hepatobiliary diseases. Individual BAs and their sulfate metabolites vary markedly in their physiological roles as well as their toxicities. Therefore, analytical techniques are required for the quantification of individual BAs and BA-sulfates in biological fluids and tissues. Here we report a simple, sensitive, and validated LC-MS/MS method for the simultaneous quantification of major BAs and BA-sulfates in mouse liver, plasma, bile, and urine. One-step sample preparation using solid-phase extraction (for bile and urine) or protein precipitation (for liver and plasma) was used to extract BAs and BA-sulfates. Base-line separation of all analytes (unsulfated- and sulfated BAs) was achieved in 25min with a limit of quantification of 1ng/ml. This LC-MS/MS method was applied to simultaneously quantify BAs and BA-sulfates in both male and female mouse tissues and fluids. Less than 3% of total BAs are present in the sulfate form in the mouse liver, plasma, and bile, which provides strong evidence that sulfation is a minor metabolic pathway of BA elimination and detoxification in mice. Furthermore, we report that the marked female-predominant expression of Sult2a1 is not reflected into a female-predominant pattern of BA-sulfation.

Effects of feeding bile acids and a bile acid sequestrant on hepatic bile acid composition in mice

An improved ultra performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC/MS/MS) method was established for the simultaneous analysis of various bile acids (BA) and applied to investigate liver BA content in C57BL/6 mice fed 1% cholic acid (CA), 0.3% deoxycholic acid (DCA), 0.3% chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA), 0.3% lithocholic acid (LCA), 3% ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA), or 2% cholestyramine (resin). Results indicate that mice have a remarkable ability to maintain liver BA concentrations. The BA profiles in mouse livers were similar between CA and DCA feedings, as well as between CDCA and LCA feedings. The mRNA expression of Cytochrome P450 7a1 (Cyp7a1) was suppressed by all BA feedings, whereas Cyp7b1 was suppressed only by CA and UDCA feedings. Gender differences in liver BA composition were observed after feeding CA, DCA, CDCA, and LCA, but they were not prominent after feeding UDCA. Sulfation of CA and CDCA was found at the 7-OH position, and it was increased by feeding CA or CDCA more in male than female mice. In contrast, sulfation of LCA and taurolithocholic acid (TLCA) was female-predominant, and it was increased by feeding UDCA and LCA. In summary, the present systematic study on BA metabolism in mice will aid in interpreting BA-mediated gene regulation and hepatotoxicity.

Bile Acid sulfation: a pathway of bile acid elimination and detoxification

Sulfotransferase-2A1 catalyzes the formation of bile acid-sulfates (BA-sulfates). Sulfation of BAs increases their solubility, decreases their intestinal absorption, and enhances their fecal and urinary excretion. BA-sulfates are also less toxic than their unsulfated counterparts. Therefore, sulfation is an important detoxification pathway of BAs. Major species differences in BA sulfation exist. In humans, only a small proportion of BAs in bile and serum are sulfated, whereas more than 70% of BAs in urine are sulfated, indicating their efficient elimination in urine. The formation of BA-sulfates increases during cholestatic diseases. Therefore, sulfation may play an important role in maintaining BA homeostasis under pathologic conditions. Farnesoid X receptor, pregnane X receptor, constitutive androstane receptor, and vitamin D receptor are potential nuclear receptors that may be involved in the regulation of BA sulfation. This review highlights current knowledge about the enzymes and transporters involved in the formation and elimination of BA-sulfates, the effect of sulfation on the pharmacologic and toxicologic properties of BAs, the role of BA sulfation in cholestatic diseases, and the regulation of BA sulfation.

Formation of hyodeoxycholic acid from muricholic acid and hyocholic acid by an unidentified gram-positive rod termed HDCA-1 isolated from rat intestinal microflora

From the rat intestinal microflora we isolated a gram-positive rod, termed HDCA-1, that is a member of a not previously described genomic species and that is able to transform the 3alpha,6beta, 7beta-trihydroxy bile acid beta-muricholic acid into hyodeoxycholic acid (3alpha,6alpha-dihydroxy acid) by dehydroxylation of the 7beta-hydroxy group and epimerization of the 6beta-hydroxy group into a 6alpha-hydroxy group. Other bile acids that were also transformed into hyodeoxycholic acid were hyocholic acid (3alpha, 6alpha,7alpha-trihydroxy acid), alpha-muricholic acid (3alpha,6beta, 7alpha-trihydroxy acid), and omega-muricholic acid (3alpha,6alpha, 7beta-trihydroxy acid). The strain HDCA-1 could not be grown unless a nonconjugated 7-hydroxylated bile acid and an unidentified growth factor produced by a Ruminococcus productus strain that was also isolated from the intestinal microflora were added to the culture medium. Germfree rats selectively associated with the strain HDCA-1 plus a bile acid-deconjugating strain and the growth factor-producing R. productus strain converted beta-muricholic acid almost completely into hyodeoxycholic acid.

Effects of intestinal microbial bile salt sulfatase activity on bile salt kinetics in gnotobiotic rats

Hepatic sulfation is thought to promote fecal excretion of lithocholate in humans by impairing the enterohepatic recirculation of the compound. Sulfatases produced by the gut flora may, at least in part, counteract this process. To investigate this interaction, female germfree rats, which are known to excrete considerable amounts of sulfated bile salts, were selectively associated with a bile salt desulfating flora. In these rats nearly all cecal, colonic, and fecal bile salt sulfate esters were hydrolyzed, resulting in a decrease of total fecal bile salt excretion of greater than 25% compared with gnotobiotic rats without a bile salt desulfating flora. Desulfation of allochenodeoxycholate, the major sulfated bile salt in germfree rats, led to an enhanced recirculation and 12 alpha-hydroxylation of the compound in the liver, resulting in an increased fecal output of allocholate. Microbial desulfation of intraperitoneally injected [24-14C]taurolithocholate-3-sulfate caused a fivefold decrease of the fecal plus urinary excretion rate of the isotope to approximately that found for unsulfated [24-14C]taurolithocholate. Coassociation of the gnotobiotic rats with a microflora that normalized the small intestinal transit time and cecal size led to a rise of total fecal bile salt excretion of greater than 30% and a twofold accelerated excretion of both sulfated and unsulfated injected [24-14C]taurolithocholate. We conclude that in rats the gut flora rapidly desulfates intestinal bile salt sulfates, enhancing the enterohepatic recirculation and subsequent hydroxylation of the desulfated bile salts. In addition, these data illustrate the importance of having a well-defined microflora to normalize intestinal transit time and cecal size of gnotobiotic animals when performing kinetic studies of enterohepatic circulating compounds.

Isolation of a rat intestinal Clostridium strain producing 5 alpha- and 5 beta-bile salt 3 alpha-sulfatase activity

An unnamed sporeforming microorganism, termed Clostridium sp. strain S2, possessing bile salt sulfatase activity was isolated from rat intestinal microflora. The microorganism was a strictly anaerobic, nonmotile, gram-negative, asaccharolytic, sporeforming rod requiring CO2, vitamin K, and taurine; the guanine-plus-cytosine content of the DNA was 40.8 mol% (Tm), and the strain was tentatively classified as an atypical Clostridium species. Sulfatase activity was specific for 3 alpha-sulfate esters of 5 alpha- and 5 beta-bile salts, leaving the 3 beta-, 7 alpha-, and 12 alpha-sulfates unchanged. Strain S2 also deconjugated tauro- and glyco-conjugated bile salts and partially reduced into the corresponding 6 alpha-hydroxy bile salts. By these reactions, alpha-muricholate and beta-muricholate were more than 80% converted into hyocholate and omega-muricholate, respectively. In addition, strain S2 produced 12 alpha-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase converting deoxycholate into 3 alpha-hydroxy-12-oxo-5 beta-cholanoate. When strain S2 was associated with gnotobiotic rats, the fecal bile salts were more than 90% desulfated and the fecal excretion of allochenodeoxycholate was five times lower than in control rats.

Specificity of bile salt sulfatase activity in man, mouse and rat intestinal microflora

Desulfation of bile acid 3-, 7- and 12-monosulfates was studied in incubates of fecal flora of man, rat and mouse. In anaerobic incubates, the 3 alpha-sulfates of the 5 beta-bile acids chenodeoxycholic acid and cholic acid, as well as the 3 alpha-sulfate of the 5 alpha-bile acid allochenodeoxycholic acid, were desulfated and further metabolized with the formation of a variety of metabolites. Desulfation yields were low in aerobically incubated samples, and aerobic subcultures were always negative. The 7- or 12-monosulfate esters of chenodeoxycholic acid and cholic acid were not hydrolyzed, neither anaerobically nor aerobically. High numbers (10(7) per 10(9) total count) of bile salt 3-sulfatase producing bacteria were present in rat cecal contents. No desulfating bacteria were detected in the proximal or medium small intestine of the rat, whereas low numbers were found in 2 out of 5 samples from the distal small intestine. These results reflect the predominantly anaerobic character of the bile salt sulfatase producing microflora in the intestine and suggest that the intestinal microflora of man, rat and mouse do not possess bile salt 7- or 12-sulfatase activity.

Cooperative formation of omega-muricholic acid by intestinal microorganisms

Three anaerobic bacteria, isolated from the ceca of rats and mice, converted, through a concerted mechanism, beta-muricholic acid, the predominant bile acid in germfree rats, into omega-muricholic acid. One isolate was a Eubacterium lentum strain; the second and third isolates were tentatively identified as atypical Fusobacterium sp. strains. The conversion of beta-muricholic acid into omega-muricholic acid proceeded in two steps: E. lentum oxidized the 6 beta-hydroxyl group of beta-muricholic acid to a 6-oxo group, which was reduced by either of the two other species to a 6 alpha-hydroxyl group, yielding omega-muricholic acid. This transformation occurred both in vitro and in gnotobiotic rats. Monoassociation of germfree rats with the E. lentum strain gave rise to an unidentified fecal bile acid, probably a derivative of beta-muricholic acid having a double bond in the side chain.

Isolation of a bile salt sulfatase-producing Clostridium strain from rat intestinal microflora

Bile acid sulfates, formed in human and rat livers, are desulfated by the intestinal microflora. In our study we first isolated from conventional rat feces an unnamed bacterium, termed strain S1, which desulfated the 5 beta-bile salt 3 alpha-sulfates in vitro and in vivo after association with gnotobiotic rats. Strain S1 also possessed 12 alpha-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase and bile salt-deconjugating activities. The strain was a strict anaerobic, CO2-requiring, gram-negative, sporeforming rod and was designated as belonging to the genus Clostridium. Growth was scarce in culture media, unless in the presence of 0.1% taurine, a sulfur-containing amino acid. Addition of this substance raised the number of bacteria in thioglycolate and peptone yeast media from 10(4) per ml to 10(6) to 10(7) per ml and increased the colony diameter on agar medium from 0.2 mm to 0.5 to 0.9 mm. Sulfatase activity was specific for the 5 beta-bile salt sulfates, leaving the 5 alpha-bile salt sulfates unchanged. In addition, the sulfatase activity was cell bound, and its production was dependent on the composition of the culture medium, although no minimal sulfur medium was required for sulfatase activity.

Effects of cholesterol feeding on the bile acids of male and female germ-free rats

The effect of cholesterol feeding on the intestinal bile acids was studied in male and female germ-free rats. The bile acid pattern of the male animals was not altered considerably by cholesterol supplementation. Bile acids belonging to the chenodeoxycholic acid pathway slightly increased whereas cholic acid decreased. beta-Muricholic acid remained the predominant bile acid in male rats. On the other hand, cholesterol feeding to female germ-free rats substantially changed the intestinal bile acid composition. The concentration of cholic acid fell to one third and that of beta-muricholic acid decreased by about half. On the contrary, the relative amounts of chenodeoxycholic acid, allochenodeoxycholic acid and alpha-muricholic acid increased several times. The most striking sex-linked effect of cholesterol feeding was the occurrence in female rats of a bile acid tentatively identified as 3 alpha, 7 beta-dihydroxy-6-oxo-5 beta-cholan-24-oic acid. This bile acid accounted for 16.0% and 26.6% of the total bile acids in the small intestine and in the cecum plus large intestine, respectively. Cholesterol feeding also influenced the sulfation of bile acids in female germ-free rats. In the small intestine the sulfated fraction increased from 1.1% to 2.8% and in cecum plus large intestine from 23.0% to 30.8%. Allochenodeoxycholic acid was the predominant bile acid in the sulfate fraction. The total amount of bile acids in cecum plus large intestine increased from 72.0 to 225.0 mg/kg body weight in male rats and from 64.8 to 231.3 mg/kg body weight in female animals.

[Atypical bile acids (author's transl)]

The metabolism of bile acids in man is disturbed under the conditions of cholestasis. Besides of the main bile acids atypical bile acids can be found, which are mainly eliminated by renal excretion as sulphate esters and glucuronides. The pattern of urinary bile acids up to now renders no conclusions with respect to the underlying disease, although intrahepatic cholestasis seems to be in some way connected with disturbances in the metabolism of 3 beta-hydroxy-5-cholenoic acid, a bile acid, which exerts cholestatic effects by itself. The metabolites to be found seem to reflect a derepression of a genotypical synthesis program, which is not phenotypically apparent in healthy adults, but which may have been active during prenatal developmental stages of the liver.

Measurement of fecal bile acid excretion in gnotobiotic rats: comparison of gas-liquid chromatography and [4(-14C)] cholesterol isotopic equilibrium

Gas-liquid chromatography (G.L.C.) and the method of [4(-14C)] cholesterol isotopic equilibrium (C.I.E.) were used to determine the fecal bile acid excretion in gnotobiotic rats. The same samples were submitted to both methods. In these conditions, it was observed that the fecal bile acid excretions determined by G.L.C. were 38% of lower than when determined by C.I.E. In thin-layer chromatographic analyses (T.L.C.) of the bile acid extracts obtained from rats in which a [4(-14C)] cholesterol isotopic equilibrium was established, 33 to 35% of the radioactivity of this fraction was not observed in the rat primary bile acids. No bile acids could be observed in G.L.C. made with eluates obtained from the T.L.C. areas containing this radioactivity. It therefore appears that the difference observed in the results obtained by G.L.C. and C.I.E. is due to the fact that chemical species which are not measured by the former method can be determined by the latter one. T.L.C. analyses of bile acid extracts from axenic rats in which either a [26(-14C)] cholesterol or a [2,4(-3H)] cholic acid and [24(-14C)] chenodeoxycholic acid equilibrium were established, lead to the conclusion that the chemical composition of these undetermined substances is complex: part of these substances comes from the transformation of bile acids; another part is made of molecules which maintain the 26(-14C) of cholesterol.