Skip Navigation
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

Use this QR code to view the newest version of this document
Use this QR code to view the newest version of this document

Your Environment. Your Health.

Publication Detail

Title: Decreased hepatotoxic bile acid composition and altered synthesis in progressive human nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

Authors: Lake, April D; Novak, Petr; Shipkova, Petia; Aranibar, Nelly; Robertson, Donald; Reily, Michael D; Lu, Zhenqiang; Lehman-McKeeman, Lois D; Cherrington, Nathan J

Published In Toxicol Appl Pharmacol, (2013 Apr 15)

Abstract: Bile acids (BAs) have many physiological roles and exhibit both toxic and protective influences within the liver. Alterations in the BA profile may be the result of disease induced liver injury. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a prevalent form of chronic liver disease characterized by the pathophysiological progression from simple steatosis to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). The hypothesis of this study is that the 'classical' (neutral) and 'alternative' (acidic) BA synthesis pathways are altered together with hepatic BA composition during progression of human NAFLD. This study employed the use of transcriptomic and metabolomic assays to study the hepatic toxicologic BA profile in progressive human NAFLD. Individual human liver samples diagnosed as normal, steatosis, and NASH were utilized in the assays. The transcriptomic analysis of 70 BA genes revealed an enrichment of downregulated BA metabolism and transcription factor/receptor genes in livers diagnosed as NASH. Increased mRNA expression of BAAT and CYP7B1 was observed in contrast to decreased CYP8B1 expression in NASH samples. The BA metabolomic profile of NASH livers exhibited an increase in taurine together with elevated levels of conjugated BA species, taurocholic acid (TCA) and taurodeoxycholic acid (TDCA). Conversely, cholic acid (CA) and glycodeoxycholic acid (GDCA) were decreased in NASH liver. These findings reveal a potential shift toward the alternative pathway of BA synthesis during NASH, mediated by increased mRNA and protein expression of CYP7B1. Overall, the transcriptomic changes of BA synthesis pathway enzymes together with altered hepatic BA composition signify an attempt by the liver to reduce hepatotoxicity during disease progression to NASH.

PubMed ID: 23391614 Exiting the NIEHS site

MeSH Terms: Bile Acids and Salts/analysis; Bile Acids and Salts/genetics; Bile Acids and Salts/metabolism*; Bile Acids and Salts/toxicity; Cluster Analysis; Disease Progression; Fatty Liver/metabolism*; Gene Expression Profiling; Humans; Liver/drug effects*; Metabolomics; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Back
to Top