title: The effects of amiloride on biliary calcium and cholesterol gallstone formation.
abstract: Recent studies indicate that gallbladder absorption increases during the early stages of experimentally-induced cholesterol gallstone formation. The purpose of the present study was to ascertain whether pharmacologic inhibition of gallbladder ion transport and absorption reduces the incidence of experimentally-induced cholesterol gallstones. Prairie dogs were fed either a control chow or a 1.2% cholesterol-enriched chow for 15 days. One group of cholesterol-fed animals received saline via an orogastric tube; another group received amiloride, a drug known to inhibit in vitro ion transport in the prairie dog gallbladder. The incidence of gallstones in cholesterol-fed animals was reduced from 83% to 13% (p less than 0.025) when the animals were treated with amiloride; this occurred despite a cholesterol-saturation index comparable to that observed in gallstone animals. Additionally, although biliary calcium decreased in the gallbladder, hepatic bile did not in the amiloride-treated animals. These data provide further evidence that altered gallbladder absorption and increased biliary calcium are important factors in the pathogenesis of cholesterol gallstones.
authors.affiliation: Surgical and Research Services, Sepulveda Veterans Administration Medical Center, California.
authors.forename: S D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Strichartz
authors.forename: M Z
authors.initials: MZ
authors.lastname: Abedin
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Abdou
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Roslyn
mesh_terms: D000042:Absorption; D000284:Administration, Oral; D000584:Amiloride / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000097:blood / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D001647:Bile Acids and Salts / Q000032:analysis; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism*; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000378:metabolism*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D042882:Gallstones / Q000378:metabolism / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008297:Male; D010743:Phospholipids / Q000032:analysis; D012589:Sciuridae
chemical_list: D001647:Bile Acids and Salts; D010743:Phospholipids; D000584:Amiloride; D002784:Cholesterol; D002118:Calcium