Liquid crystal formation in ursodeoxycholate-rich human gallbladder bile.
We studied liquid crystal formation in bile samples obtained from the patients with radiolucent gallstones who had been administered either ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) at a dose of 600 mg/day or chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA) at 400 mg/day for one week preoperatively. The UDCA/total bile acids ratio was found to range from 50 to 60% and the CDCA/total bile acids ratio ranged from 70 to 80%. Cholesterol molar percent was 5 in UDCA-rich bile and 6 in CDCA-rich bile. Phospholipid molar percentage was about the same in both groups. Liquid crystal formation was confirmed only in the UDCA-rich bile samples but not in the CDCA-rich bile samples. This result suggests that cholesterol in the UDCA-rich bile samples is not solubilized by the bile salt and phospholipid mixed micelles but also consumed to form liquid crystals.
D001646:Bile / Q000378:metabolism*; D001647:Bile Acids and Salts / Q000378:metabolism; D002635:Chenodeoxycholic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002769:Cholelithiasis / Q000378:metabolism*; D003460:Crystallization; D003840:Deoxycholic Acid / Q000031:analogs & derivatives*; D005704:Gallbladder / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D014580:Ursodeoxycholic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology*
D001647:Bile Acids and Salts; D003840:Deoxycholic Acid; D002635:Chenodeoxycholic Acid; D014580:Ursodeoxycholic Acid