Studies on bile acids: The microquantitative separation of cellular bile acids by gas-liquid chromatography

1. A method is described for the quantitative isolation of bile acids from cellular material. Homogenates of rat liver are freeze-dried and extracted exhaustively with 95% (v/v) ethanol containing 0·1% (v/v) of aq. ammonia (sp.gr. 0·88) and purified by anion-exchange chromatography on Amberlyst A-26. 2. The extracted bile acid conjugates are subjected to either of two hydrolytic procedures, one involving chemical and the other enzymic agents. A unique feature in this study is the introduction of an enzyme, a clostridial peptide-bond hydrolase, for the rapid cleavage of bile acid conjugates, replacing the classical drastic chemical hydrolysis with strong alkali. 3. After hydrolysis, free bile acids are methylated and converted into their trifluoroacetates for final determination by gas–liquid chromatography on a triple component column, FS-1265–SE30–NGS. 4. For the purpose of identification of peaks, bile acid methyl esters are converted into their trimethylsilyl ethers by allowing the methyl esters to react with a new and potent silyl donor, bis(trimethylsilyl)acetamide. 5. The technique affords us a means of studying the metabolism of bile acids at the cellular and subcellular levels in tissues.     

Thin-layer chromatography of hydroxamic acids

The separation of very short-chain from long-chain fatty acyl hydroxamates by thin-layer chromatography is described. The detection limit was 2 micrograms.     

Group separation of bile acids and salts by silicic acid column chromatography

Group separations of unconjugated and conjugated bile acids and salts were performed using mixtures of conventional solvents by chromatography on columns of silicic acid. The results suggest that this method is useful for group separations of mono-, di-, and trihydroxycholan-24-oic acids and their conjugates with good recoveries. This method is advantageous for synthesis work, especially for the purification of conjugated and sulfated bile acids and salts, and is applicable for the group separation of glycine and taurine conjugates. The application of this method to human gallbladder bile salts is demonstrated.     

Determination of duodenogastric reflux by quantification of bile acids in the gastric juice

The existence of duodeno-gastric reflux was evaluated in a group of 15 healthy subjects, in fasting and for 24 hours. The assessment of duodeno-gastric reflux was made by quantitation of the bile acids (BA) present in the gastric juice. The individual free and conjugated BA were separated and quantified by means of thin-layer chromatography and in situ spectrofluorometry. In 7 of the subjects studied no BA were detected, and in the other 8 subjects the BA levels were below 6 mumol reflux/hour. There were no free BA detected in any of the subjects. The levels of BA in gastric juice increased progressively with age, but there were no differences between sex. The chromatographic technique used is highly sensitive for the analysis of BA in biological samples. The study of BA in the gastric juice provides a quantitative and reliable assessment of the degree of duodeno-gastric reflux.     

Differentiated quantification of human bile acids in serum by high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

Determination of quantitative changes in the pattern of serum bile acids is important for the monitoring of diseases affecting bile acid metabolism. A sensitive and specific high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-MS/MS method was developed for the differentiated quantification of unconjugated as well as glycine- and taurine-conjugated cholic, chenodeoxycholic (CDCA), deoxycholic (DCA), ursodeoxycholic (UDCA) and lithocholic acid (LCA) in serum samples. After solid-phase extraction and reversed-phase HPLC separation, detection of the conjugated bile acids was performed using electrospray ionization (ESI)-MS/MS and selected reaction monitoring mode, whereas unconjugated bile acids were determined by ESI-MS and selected ion monitoring mode. The within-day and between-day coefficients of variation were below 7% for all bile acids and the recovery rates of the extraction procedure were between 84.9 and 105%. The developed method was applied to a group of 21 healthy volunteers and preliminary reference intervals in serum were established. In patients with drug-induced cholestasis, an elevation of primary bile acids has been shown.     

Influence of dietary bile acids on formation of bile acids in rat

Various taurine-conjugated bile acids were fed to rats at the 1%-level in the diet for 3 or 7 days and the effect on several hydroxylations involved in the biosynthesis and metabolism of bile acids was studied. The hydroxylations studied were all catalyzed by the microsomal fraction of liver homogenate fortified with NADPH. The 7α-hydroxylation of cholesterol was inhibited by feeding taurocholic acid, taurocheno-deoxycholic acid and taurodeoxycholic acid for 3 as well as 7 days. No marked inhibition was obtained with taurohyodeoxycholic acid or taurolithocholic acid. The 12α-hydroxylation of 7α-hydroxy-4-cholesten-3-one was inhibited after 3 as well as 7 days by all bile acids except taurohyodeoxycholic acid. With this acid a marked stimulation of 12α-hydroxylation was observed. The effects of the different bile acids on the 7α-hydroxylation of taurodeoxycholic acid were not very marked. The 6β-hydroxylation of lithocholie acid and taurochenodeoxycholic acid was stimulated by taurocholic acid and taurodeoxycholic acid. The reaction was inhibited by taurochenodeoxycholic acid, at least after 7 days. Taurohyodeoxycholic acid inhibited the 6β-hydroxylation slightly and taurolithocholic acid had no effect. The results were discussed in the light of present knowledge concerning mechanisms of regulation of formation and metabolism of bile acids and it was suggested that the mechanisms may be more complex than previously thought.     

Thin-layer chromatographic separation of intermediates of the pyridine nucleotide cycle

A rapid thin-layer chromatographic procedure for separation of the compounds comprising the intermediates in the salvage pathway known as the pyridine nucleotide cycle plus quinolinic acid and the reduced forms of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate is described. The method utilizes silica gel high-performance thin-layer plates and a mobile phase of methanol, tetrabutylammonium hydroxide, and acetonitrile. The time required for analysis is greatly reduced and results in greater than 96% purity of each migrating compound.