Serum 7 alpha-hydroxycholesterol as a new parameter of liver function in patients with chronic liver diseases.
To examine bile acid synthesis in chronic liver diseases, serum total 7 alpha-hydroxycholesterol level was measured by gas-liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry in patients with cirrhosis (n = 23), patients with chronic hepatitis (n = 21), and control subjects (n = 18). The serum 7 alpha-hydroxycholesterol levels were significantly lower in patients with cirrhosis than the controls (78 +/- 59 pmol/mL vs. 237 +/- 97 pmol/mL; mean +/- SD). However, in patients with chronic hepatitis, the level was fully retained (262 +/- 102 pmol/mL). Serum 7 alpha-hydroxycholesterol levels of 17 patients with cirrhosis classified as Child B and C ranged from 33 to 69 pmol/mL, and all were less than the normal range (between 104 and 466 pmol/mL), however, those levels of some patients classified as Child A were within the normal range. Serum 7 alpha-hydroxycholesterol levels significantly correlated with serum albumin, cholinesterase, total bile acid, direct bilirubin, alkaline phosphatase, indocyanine green (ICG) retention rate, hepaplastin test, and lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase activities. We conclude that bile acid synthesis is well preserved in patients with chronic hepatitis and that it is decreased in most patients with cirrhosis. Serum 7 alpha-hydroxycholesterol may be a new parameter of liver function testing to assess hepatic bile acid synthesis in patients with chronic liver diseases.
Kuroki
S
S
Department of Surgery 1, Kyushu University Faculty of Medicine, Fukuoka, Japan.
Okamoto
S
S
Naito
T
T
Oda
H
H
Nagase
S
S
Sakai
H
H
Nawata
H
H
Yamashita
H
H
Chijiiwa
K
K
Tanaka
M
M
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001647:Bile Acids and Salts / Q000097:blood; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D006505:Hepatitis / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D006888:Hydroxycholesterols / Q000097:blood*; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000097:blood; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000097:blood*; D008111:Liver Function Tests / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012016:Reference Values; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012709:Serum Albumin / Q000378:metabolism
D001647:Bile Acids and Salts; D006888:Hydroxycholesterols; D012709:Serum Albumin; C011724:cholest-5-en-3 beta,7 alpha-diol