Portal blood concentrations of conjugated cholic and chenodeoxycholic acids. Relationships to bile salt synthesis in liver cells.

1. Rats were maintained in a strictly controlled environment of 12 h illumination and 12 h darkness. At regular intervals during the light/dark cycle the portal blood conjugated cholic acid and conjugated chenodeoxycholic acid concentrations were measured. The bile salt concentrations exhibited similar diurnal rhythms, the highest concentrations occurring in the middle of the dark phase. 2. The concentrations of conjugated cholic and chenodeoxycholic acids in the portal blood of rats fed a diet containing the bile salt sequestrant, cholestyramine, were significantly lower than those found in rats given a control diet. 3. During total biliary drainage the portal blood concentrations of conjugated cholic and chenodeoxycholic acids fell to a minimum 6--8 h after the start of the experiment, whereas bile salt synthesis in hepatocytes isolated from the rats was not increased until the least 13 h after the commencement of total biliary drainage. 4. These results suggest that the concentrations of bile salts in the portal blood do not affect directly the diurnal fluctuation in rates of bile salt synthesis, as the response of synthesis to a change in portal blood bile salt concentrations is too slow. 5. When the rats were given a small supplement of cholesterol in the diet to suppress hepatic cholesterologenesis prior to being subjected to total biliary drainage, the changes in the portal blood concentrations of conjugated cholic and chenodeoxycholic acids and the synthesis of the two bile salts by isolated hepatocytes were similar to those found in rats given the control diet. 6. The rise in bile salt production seen during biliary drainage may not be dependent exclusively on a preceding increase in cholesterol synthesis.

The effect of portacaval transposition of hepatic cholesterol-7alpha-hydroxylase activity in the rat.

Portacaval anastomosis in the rat results in an increase in the activity of the liver microsomal cholesterol-7alpha-hydroxylase enzyme system. The increase in the activity of this oxygenase occurs despite a decrease in the total amount of cytochrome p450 in the liver microsomes after portacaval anastomosis. It is possible to increase further the activity of the cholesterol-7alpha-hydroxylase enzyme in these portacaval shunted animals by feeding them on a diet containing a bile salt sequestering agent. This suggests that one of the factors influencing the activity of the liver microsomal cholesterol-7alpha-hydroxylase enzyme may be the concentration of bile salts reaching the liver from the blood plasma. Portacaval anastomosis in the rat tended to achieve a small decrease in the plasma cholesterol concentration.

Dietary effects on certain adrenal cortical functions in the rat.

The rate-limiting step in adrenal steroidogenesis is associated with the mitochondrial-cytochrome-P450scc-dependent production of pregnenolone from cholesterol. This sterol side-chain cleavage reaction is influenced by the supply of cholesterol to the mitochondria. Cholesterol is stored as cholesterol esters while the cytosol contains a hormone-sensitive cholesterol ester hydrolase. This enzyme is activated by phosphorylation involving a cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase and ATP; this enzyme preferentially attacks cholesterol oleate or cholesterol linoleate. The lipid composition of the adrenal cortex is influenced by diet so that animals on a low-fat diet tend to store cholesterol oleate and as the linoleate content of the diet is increased, the cholesterol linoleate content of the adrenal cortex increases. Animals maintained on a high erucate diet tend to store large amounts of cholesterol erucate in the adrenal cortex; such animals have an impaired adrenal cortical function. Animals maintained on a low-fat diet (marginally deficient in essential fatty acids), a linoleate-replete diet or a moderate erucate diet, all exhibited normal responses to ACTH and normal corticosterone production rates.

Transmission electron microscopy of heart and liver tissues from rats fed with gums arabic and tragacanth.

Transmission electron microscopy has been used to examine the ultrastructure of rat hearts and livers after diet supplementation with (a) 0, 0.5, 1.5, 2.5 and 3.5% (w/w) gum tragacanth (GT) for 91 days, (b) 0 and 1% GT for 5 days (c) 0, 1, 4 and 8% (w/w) gum arabic (GA) for 28 days. The preparation and scrutiny of the electron micrographs was undertaken by two independent teams of specialists. There were no detectable abnormalities in any of the organelles in the heart and liver specimens from any of the test animals and no inclusions nor other pathological changes were observed. All micrographs showed normal, healthy tissues; particular attention was given to the mitochondria in hepatocytes as they serve as sensitive indicators of the health and state of activity of cells. In addition, the data obtained from assays of the microsomal protein and cytochrome P-450 content of the livers showed that GA and GT did not cause inductive effects. These results do not support earlier suggestions, based on in vitro assays, that GA and GT cause changes in the function of rat heart and liver mitochondria and liver microsomes; however, they confirm a report by Zbinden that the ingestion of GT does not produce abnormalities in the cardiac function of rats.

Jarcho-Levin syndrome: prenatal diagnosis, perinatal care, and follow-up of siblings.

Jarcho-Levin syndrome (JLS), spondylothoracic or spondylocostal dysostosis, is a rare entity with variable clinical severity. This syndrome is usually diagnosed in individuals with short neck, short trunk, and short stature with multiple vertebral anomalies at all levels of the vertebral column, including "butterfly vertebrae," hemivertebrae, and fused, hypoplastic vertebrae. The small size of the thorax in newborns frequently leads to respiratory compromise and death in infancy. We report a family in which the diagnosis of JLS in a 1-year-old led to prenatal ultrasound diagnosis of JLS in a sibling. Aggressive neonatal care of the sibling, who developed respiratory failure soon after birth, led to an excellent outcome. This case confirms the utility of the prenatal ultrasound diagnosis of JLS and suggests that when the diagnosis of JLS is known prenatally, appropriate preparations can be made for specialized prenatal and postnatal care that may improve survival.

The effect of dietary fibre on bile acid metabolism in rats.

1. Forty-eight male rats were fed sequentially for 14 d periods on diets containing different fibre contents. 2. One of the high-fibre diets was a commercial pelleted diet. The other was a low-fibre diet supplemented with 200 g wheat bran/kg. 3. At the end of each feeding period eight rats were killed. Liver microsomal cholesterol 7 alpha-hydroxylase (EC 1.14.1.-) activity and bile acid content of small intestine and colon were determined. 4. The different diets did not significantly alter the total intestinal bile acids, but affected the distribution and qualitative pattern in the colon and small intestine. 5. On the high-fibre diets deoxycholate, and hyodeoxycholate tended to be increased. 6. On the low-fibre diets the alpha, beta- and omega-muricholic acids tended to be increased. 7. Liver microsomal cholesterol 7 alpha-hydroxylase activity was lower in rats on the low-fibre and bran-supplemented low-fibre diets compared with that in rats fed on the commercial pelleted diet.