Studies on the origin of biliary phospholipid. Effect of dehydrocholic acid and cholic acid infusions on hepatic and biliary phospholipids

Decarboxylative halogenation of aliphatic carboxylic acids catalyzed by iron salts under visible light

In this article, we report a general protocol for the direct decarboxylative chlorination, iodination, and bromination of aliphatic carboxylic acids catalyzed by iron salts under visible light. This method enjoys a broad substrate scope with good functional group compatibility, including complex natural products. Benzylic and allylic C(sp3)-H bonds can be retained under the oxidative halogenation conditions. This method also shows application potential for late-stage functionalization.

Bacterial and metabolic phenotypes associated with inadequate response to ursodeoxycholic acid treatment in primary biliary cholangitis

Primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) is a chronic cholestatic liver disease with ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) as first-line treatment. Poor response to UDCA is associated with a higher risk of progressing to cirrhosis, but the underlying mechanisms are unclear. UDCA modulates the composition of primary and bacterial-derived bile acids (BAs). We characterized the phenotypic response to UDCA based on BA and bacterial profiles of PBC patients treated with UDCA. Patients from the UK-PBC cohort (n = 419) treated with UDCA for a minimum of 12-months were assessed using the Barcelona dynamic response criteria. BAs from serum, urine, and feces were analyzed using Ultra-High-Performance Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry and fecal bacterial composition measured using 16S rRNA gene sequencing. We identified 191 non-responders, 212 responders, and a subgroup of responders with persistently elevated liver biomarkers (n = 16). Responders had higher fecal secondary and tertiary BAs than non-responders and lower urinary bile acid abundances, with the exception of 12-dehydrocholic acid, which was higher in responders. The sub-group of responders with poor liver function showed lower alpha-diversity evenness, lower abundance of fecal secondary and tertiary BAs than the other groups and lower levels of phyla with BA-deconjugation capacity (Actinobacteriota/Actinomycetota, Desulfobacterota, Verrucomicrobiota) compared to responders. UDCA dynamic response was associated with an increased capacity to generate oxo-/epimerized secondary BAs. 12-dehydrocholic acid is a potential biomarker of treatment response. Lower alpha-diversity and lower abundance of bacteria with BA deconjugation capacity might be associated with an incomplete response to treatment in some patients.

Hepatic uptake and metabolism of phosphatidylcholine associated with high density lipoproteins

BACKGROUND

Phosphatidylcholine (PC) is the predominant phospholipid associated with high density lipoproteins (HDL). Although the hepatic uptake of cholesteryl esters from HDL is well characterized, much less is known about the fate of PC associated with HDL. Thus, we investigated the uptake and subsequent metabolism of HDL-PC in primary mouse hepatocytes.

METHODS AND RESULTS

The absence of scavenger receptor-BI resulted in a 30% decrease in cellular incorporation of [(3)H]PC whereas [(3)H]cholesteryl ether uptake was almost completely abolished. Although endocytosis is not involved in the uptake of cholesteryl esters from HDL, we demonstrate that HDL internalization accounts for 40% of HDL-PC uptake. Extracellular remodeling of HDL by secretory phospholipase A(2) significantly enhances HDL lipid uptake. HDL-PC taken up by hepatocytes is partially converted to triacylglycerols via PC-phospholipase C-mediated hydrolysis of PC and incorporation of diacylglycerol into triacylglycerol. The formation of triacylglycerol is independent of scavenger receptor-BI and occurs in extralysosomal compartments.

CONCLUSIONS AND GENERAL SIGNIFICANCE

These findings indicate that HDL-associated PC is incorporated into primary hepatocytes via a pathway that differs significantly from that of HDL-cholesteryl ester, and shows that HDL-PC is more than a framework molecule, as evidenced by its partial conversion to hepatic triacylglycerol.

Hepatobiliary cholesterol transport is not impaired in Abca1-null mice lacking HDL

The ABC transporter ABCA1 regulates HDL levels and is considered to control the first step of reverse cholesterol transport from the periphery to the liver. To test this concept, we studied the effect of ABCA1 deficiency on hepatic metabolism and hepatobiliary flux of cholesterol in mice. Hepatic lipid contents and biliary secretion rates were determined in Abca1(-/-), Abca1(+/-), and Abca1(+/+) mice with a DBA background that were fed either standard chow or a high-fat, high-cholesterol diet. Hepatic cholesterol and phospholipid contents in Abca1(-/-) mice were indistinguishable from those in Abca1(+/-) and Abca1(+/+) mice on both diets. In spite of the absence of HDL, biliary secretion rates of cholesterol, bile salts, and phospholipid were unimpaired in Abca1(-/-) mice. Neither the hepatic expression levels of genes controlling key steps in cholesterol metabolism nor the contribution of de novo synthesis to biliary cholesterol and bile salts were affected by Abca genotype. Finally, fecal excretion of neutral and acidic sterols was similar in all groups. We conclude that plasma HDL levels and ABCA1 activity do not control net cholesterol transport from the periphery via the liver into the bile, indicating that the importance of HDL in reverse cholesterol transport requires re-evaluation.

Vesicular and nonvesicular transport of phosphatidylcholine in polarized HepG2 cells

We have investigated the transport and canalicular enrichment of fluorescent phosphatidylcholine (PC) in HepG2 cells using the fluorescent analogs of PC C6-NBD-PC and beta-BODIPY-PC. Fluorescent PC was efficiently transported to the biliary canaliculus (BC) and became enriched on the lumenal side of the canalicular membrane as shown for C6-NBD-PC. Some fluorescent PC was transported in vesicles to a subapical compartment (SAC) or apical recycling compartment (ARC) in polarized HepG2 cells as shown by colocalization with fluorescent sphingomyelin (C6-NBD-SM) and fluorescent transferrin, respectively. Extensive trafficking of vesicles containing fluorescent PC between the basolateral domain, the SAC/ARC and the BC as well as endocytosis of PC analogs from the canalicular membrane were found. Evidence for nonvesicular transport included enrichment of the PC-analog beta-BODIPY-PC in the BC (t1/2 = 3.54 min) prior to its accumulation in the SAC/ARC (t1/2 = 18.5 min) at 37 degrees C. Transport of fluorescent PC to the canalicular membrane also continued after disruption of the actin or microtubule cytoskeleton and at 2 degrees C. These results indicate that: (i) a nonvesicular transport pathway significantly contributes to the canalicular enrichment of PC in hepatocytic cells, and (ii) vesicular transport of fluorescent PC occurs from both membrane domains via the SAC/ARC.

Enhancement of mdr2 gene transcription mediates the biliary transfer of phosphatidylcholine supplied by an increased biosynthesis in the pravastatin-treated rat

An increase of biliary lipid secretion is known to occur in the rat under sustained administration of statin-type 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl (HMG) coenzyme A (CoA) reductase inhibitors. The present study has addressed critical mechanisms of hepatic lipid synthesis and phosphatidylcholine (PC) biliary transport in the rat fed with a 0.075% pravastatin diet for 3 weeks. After treatment, biliary secretion of PC and cholesterol increased to 233% and 249% of controls, while that of bile salts was unchanged. Activity of cytidylyltransferase (CT), a major regulatory enzyme in the CDP-choline pathway of PC synthesis, was raised in both microsomal and cytosolic fractions (226% and 150% of controls), and there was an increase to 187% in the mass of active enzyme as determined by Western blot of microsomal protein using an antibody specific to CT. Cytosolic activity of choline kinase, another enzyme of the CDP-choline pathway, also increased to 175% of controls. In addition, there was an over eightfold increase in the HMG CoA reductase activity and mRNA. Thus, an increased PC and cholesterol synthetic supply to hepatocytes appeared as a basic mechanism for the biliary hypersecretion of these lipids. Notwithstanding the increased synthesis, hepatic PC content was unchanged, suggesting an enhanced transfer of this lipid into bile. Indeed, there was a sevenfold increase of multidrug resistance gene 2 (mdr2) gene mRNA coding for a main PC canalicular translocase. Thus, hypersecretion of biliary PC in the model studied can be explained by an up-regulation of mdr2 gene transcription and its P-glycoprotein product mediating the biliary transfer of PC supplied by an increased biosynthesis.

The mechanism of biliary lipid secretion and its defects

Biliary lipid secretion is an important physiological event; not only for the disposal of cholesterol from the body, but also for the protection of cells lining the biliary tree against bile salts. Insight into the (patho)physiological role of biliary lipid secretion has been recently expanded through the study of a generation of mice with a disruption of the Mdr2 gene, who do not secrete lipids into bile. Mdr2 P-glycoprotein translocates phospholipids across the hepatocanalicular membrane. These animals suffer from progressive liver disease caused by the toxic detergent action of bile salts. Very recently, it has become clear that an analogous inherited human liver disease exists, which is caused by the absence of biliary lipid secretion. Patients with this disease, Progressive Familial Intrahepatic Cholestasis (PFIC) type 3, have a mutation in the MDR3 gene, which is the human homologue of the murine Mdr2 gene.

The role of dietary choline in the beneficial effects of lecithin on the secretion of biliary lipids in rats

Earlier studies showed that dietary soybean lecithin increases biliary lipid secretion, which mainly comes from the contribution of high density lipoprotein (HDL) and hepatic microsomal pools of phosphatidylcholine and cholesterol. In addition, a lecithin diet enhances bile secretion and prevents bile acid-induced cholestasis. This study evaluated the contribution of choline, a component of lecithin, to the observed effect of lecithin on biliary secretory function. Rats were fed either a control diet (CD), a choline diet (ChD) or a lecithin-enriched diet (LD) for 2 weeks. Results showed that like LD, ChD induced an increase in bile flow and bile acid secretion rate when compared with the control diet. However, unlike LD, ChD did not significantly increase biliary phospholipids and cholesterol output. An increase of hydrophilic bile acids (i.e. ursodeoxycholic and muricholic acids) in bile of rats fed choline could explain why the biliary phospholipid and cholesterol secretion was not increased. During taurocholic acid infusion, both experimental diets increased bile flow and the bile acid secretion rate maximum (BASRm). The cholestasis usually observed after the BASRm is reached was inhibited by ChD and LD. Both diets induced a decrease in plasma cholesterol (total and HDL), however, only LD induced statistically significant changes. Analysis of total cholesterol and phospholipid content of microsomes and canalicular membranes indicated no statistically significant difference between control and experimental groups either under basal conditions or after bile acid infusion. Similarly, the phospholipid classes and fatty acid composition of biliary phosphatidylcholine were not altered by feeding ChD and LD. We conclude that choline contributes to the beneficial effect of a lecithin diet on bile secretion. It is postulated that this effect may be attributed to modulation of HDL and an enhancement of the cholesterol and phospholipid pools destined for biliary secretion.

Cholesterol-lowering effect of soyabean lecithin in normolipidaemic rats by stimulation of biliary lipid secretion

The purpose of the present study was to assess the role of the liver in the plasma-cholesterol-lowering effect of soyabean lecithin. Normolipidaemic rats were fed on lecithin-enriched or control diets with the same amount of protein. The lecithin diets contained 200 g/kg high-fat commercial semi-purified soyabean lecithin (230 g/kg total lipids as soyabean phosphatidylcholine) or 200 g/kg high-fat purified soyabean lecithin (930 g/kg total lipids as soyabean phosphatidylcholine). The control diets were a lowfat diet (40 g fat/kg) and a high-fat triacylglycerol-rich diet (200 g fat/kg). The high-fat diets were isoenergetic. The cholesterol-lowering effect of the lecithin-enriched diets was associated with significantly lower levels of plasma total- and HDL-cholesterol and significantly higher levels of bile phosphatidylcholine (PC), bile salts and cholesterol. These findings suggest that the liver plays a major role in the reduction of plasma cholesterol, the increased biliary lipid being provided by both HDL and the hepatic microsomal pools of PC and cholesterol.

Bile salt secretion by hepatocytes incubated with bile salts and liposomes or low density lipoproteins

The purpose of this work was to determine the effect of exogenous unesterified cholesterol provided in either artificial liposomes or LDL on bile salt synthesis by isolated rat hepatocytes. Rates of de novo synthesis were determined in the presence of 300 or 600 microM taurocholate, 600 microM taurodehydrocholate, cholate, deoxycholate or chenodeoxycholate. There was no significant difference between the cholesterol uptake by hepatocytes when the degree of hydrophobicity of the bile salts changed (cholate vs deoxycholate or chenodeoxycholate). Compared to taurocholate, taurodehydrocholate lowered the hepatic incorporation of unesterified cholesterol for the first 60 minutes; compared to control, taurocholate stimulated the cholesterol incorporation for the first 20 minutes. A possible explanation for this finding would be an interaction between bile salts and exogenous cholesterol, depending on the kind of conjugated bile salt. Taurocholate increased the exchange of cholesterol between liposomes or LDL and hepatocyte membranes. It resulted in a significant increase of bile salt synthesis and secretion. This phenomenon was not observed with taurodehydrocholate.

Short-term feeding of a diet enriched in phospholipids increases bile formation and the bile acid transport maximum in rats

Earlier studies suggested that the secretory rate maximum (SRm) of bile acid and the cholestasis which occurs after the SRm is reached may be determined by the hepatic or extrahepatic biliary phospholipid pool. We therefore investigated whether bile formation and the bile acid SRm could be influenced by feeding a diet enriched in phospholipids. Male rats were fed phospholipid (PLD) or triacylglycerol (TgD)-enriched diet for 3 days, and bile formation as well as biliary lipid output were measured on the 4th day. In other similarly fed groups, cholic acid was infused in stepwise increasing doses to determine the effect of PLD on the SRm of cholic acid. The plasma lipid levels were significantly lower in PLD and TgD diets compared to basal diet. But, while the levels of total cholesterol (CH), HDL-CH, and phospholipid (PH) were not significantly altered by PLD compared to TgD, the triacylglycerol levels were markedly increased by PLD. In the liver of PLD fed rats, triacylglycerol and CH ester contents decreased by 39 and 62%, respectively, while free CH and PH contents were not significantly changed. The PLD significantly augmented spontaneous bile flow, bile acid, PH and CH secretion rates compared to TgD diet (65, 124, 164 and 654%, respectively). The enhanced biliary secretory function was associated with an increase in pericanalicular vacuoles and diverticuli in centrilobular hepatocytes. Compared to TgD fed rats, PLD rats showed a 2-fold decrease in the ratio of cholic acid/chenodeoxycholic acid in bile and a significant decrease in the % contribution of taurine conjugated BA. The PH fatty acids in bile were similar in both groups except that in PLD group the % contribution of C18:2 was higher than in TgD group. No differences were found in plasma membrane CH/PH content or total fatty acid composition. During bile acid infusion, the SRm and the total cholic acid secreted were significantly higher in the PLD than in the TgD rats. Moreover, the cholestatic response observed after high bile acid dose was markedly reduced by PLD. The results show that short-term feeding of PLD induces changes in CH and bile acid metabolism which result in enhanced biliary output of CH and PH. The enhanced pool of biliary lipid may protect plasma membranes from the deleterious effects of high bile acid concentrations.

In vitro evidence that phospholipid secretion into bile may be coordinated intracellularly by the combined actions of bile salts and the specific phosphatidylcholine transfer protein of liver

Using model systems, we explored a potential function of hepatic phosphatidylcholine transfer protein to extract biliary-type phosphatidylcholines from intracellular membranes (e.g., smooth endoplasmic reticulum) and deliver them to canalicular plasma membranes where biliary secretion occurs. We measured transfer rates of parinaroyl phosphatidylcholine, a naturally fluorescent phospholipid, from small unilamellar vesicles composed of sn-1 palmitoyl, sn-2 parinaroyl phosphatidylcholine, and egg yolk phosphatidylcholine (molar ratio 75:25) wherein the fluorophore is self-quenched to small unilamellar vesicles composed of phosphatidylethanolamine, sphingomyelin, phosphatidylserine, phosphatidylinositol, and cholesterol (molar ratios 22:22:10:8:38) representing model microsomal and canalicular plasma membranes, respectively. Following addition of phosphatidylcholine transfer protein (purified from bovine liver), fluorescence intensity increased exponentially indicating net phosphatidylcholine transfer from donor to acceptor vesicles. Submicellar concentrations of a wide hydrophobicity range of common and uncommon taurine and glycine conjugated bile salts species (anionic steroid detergent-like molecules), sodium taurofusidate (a conjugated fungal bile salt analog), and sodium dodecyl sulfate and octylglucoside, anionic and nonionic straight chain detergents, respectively, markedly stimulated phosphatidylcholine transfer protein activity. This 40-115-fold effect was most pronounced for the common bile salts and correlated positively with bile salt hydrophobicity. Thermodynamic analysis of net transfer revealed that the rate-limiting step was extraction of phosphatidylcholine molecules from donor vesicles and that bile salts facilitated their capture by enhancing both phosphatidylcholine transfer protein binding as well as perturbing phospholipid packing in vesicle bilayers.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Hydrolysis of phosphatidylethanolamine by human pancreatic phospholipase A2. Effect of bile salts

The 2-ester bond of 14C-2-arachidonyl phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) was hydrolyzed faster than that of 3H-2-arachidonyl phosphatidylcholine (PC) by human pancreatic phospholipase A2 (PLA2) with mixed PE-PC (1:9 w/w) liposomes of pure sonicated PE or PC as substrate. The PC portion of the mixed PE-PC liposomes was more readily attacked by PLA2 than the PC of pure PC liposomes. At different bile salt concentrations (sodium taurocholate (NaTC), 0-3 mM, and sodium taurodeoxycholate (NaTDC), 0-4 mM) the rates of hydrolysis varied with similar patterns for both phospholipids of the mixed liposomes. The rate of hydrolysis was optimal at a bile salt concentration of 0.75-1.5 mM NaTC and 1.0-2.0 mM NaTDC and decreased at higher concentrations. The pure PE substrate was efficiently hydrolyzed also without bile salts. This may have implications for the absorption of polyunsaturated phospholipid fatty acids in patients with bile salt deficiency. Separation of phospholipid classes from human bile by high-performance liquid chromatography and analysis of fatty acid composition indicated that PE contained 5.3% of the phospholipid arachidonic acid and 9.8% of the docosahexaenoic acid mass, but only 1.7% of the total phospholipid mass. Bile and dietary PE should not be overlooked as sources of arachidonic and docosahexaenoic acid for the small intestine.

Modulating effects of bile salt hydrophobicity on bile secretion of the major protein of the bile lipoprotein complex

Bile lipids are secreted in association with a newly identified major apoprotein called anionic polypeptide fraction-calcium binding protein (APF-CBP), which is synthesized in the hepatocytes and has been detected in both bile and plasma and characterized. The secretion of the lipids in bile depends both on the concentration and the hydrophobicity of the bile salts (BS) secreted. The present study was undertaken to determine whether the synthesis and the secretion of APF-CBP are similarly regulated by BS, using two methods. The synthesis and secretion of labelled, newly synthesized APF-CBP by isolated rat hepatocytes were monitored by solid-phase immunoassay. For this purpose, hepatocytes were incubated with either glycodeoxycholate (GDC) or taurocholate (TC). The synthesis and secretion of labelled, newly synthesized APF-CBP by perfused rat liver were measured by immunological enzyme-linked assay (ELISA) upon perfusing the liver with either GDC or TC. We found that (i) the synthesis and the secretion of APF-CBP were increased during either TC or GDC perfusion, but the increase was more pronounced with TC; (ii) in GDC perfusion the APF-CBP levels measured were more closely related to the levels of bile salts and not to phospholipid levels, (iii) when the two bile salts were perfused in reverse order, i.e., first GDC and then TC, the secretion of APF-CBP in bile decreased when GDC was perfused, but increased when TC was perfused. Similar results were obtained in experiments with isolated hepatocytes.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

The effect of short-term lipid infusion on liver function and biliary secretion in rats

This study was undertaken to determine the effect of various lipid emulsions on the hepato-biliary system in rats. Rats were randomly divided into six groups and infused continuously for 48 hr with either long-chain triglycerides (LCT), medium-chain triglycerides (MCT) or a mixture of MCT and LCT. One group infused with physiological saline solution served as controls. Throughout this period the rats received a fat free diet ad libitum. During the last hour of lipid infusion bile was collected for determination of bile flow and composition. Subsequently, the rats were sacrificed and the morphology and lipid content of the liver determined. Only LCT lipid emulsions induced morphological changes and increased liver cholesterol content. In two rats infused with radiolabeled LCT, no labeled cholesterol was found in the liver, indicating that the excess hepatic cholesterol level may originate from enhanced cholesterol mobilization to the liver. Biliary cholesterol and phospholipid concentrations in LCT-treated rats were also elevated, as was the lithogenic index, whereas the other emulsions had no such effects. None of the emulsions affected the plasma liver function tests or bile flow. We therefore conclude that the lithogenicity of the bile in rats is directly related to the lipid components of the total parenteral nutrition and the type of triglyceride infused.

Influence of dehydrocholic and cholic acids on the biliary secretion of anionic polypeptide fraction, the major apoprotein of the biliary lipoprotein complex

This work was undertaken to study the effect of intravenously infused dehydrocholate (DHCA) and cholate (CA) on lipid and anionic polypeptide fraction (APF) secretion in bile. APF is a small acidic amphipathic apoprotein closely associated with biliary lipids and bilirubin and involved in the control of bile-destined cholesterol. Rats were infused with increasing doses of DHCA (2 and 3 mumols/min/100 g b.w.) and then CA (1, 2, and 3 mumols/min/100 g b.w.). Each dose was infused for 30 min. As expected, intravenous DHCA inhibited biliary phospholipid (PL) and cholesterol secretion, and CA restored it. When DHCA was infused, the level of APF increased fourfold compared with controls. The APF/PL ratio also increased, but biliary albumin remained stable. When bile secretion was stimulated by infusion of CA, biliary APF returned to normal. These data indicate that biliary secretion of APF depends on the nature and the amount of bile salts returning to the liver, and consequently, APF can be considered a marker of bile secretion disorders.