title: Fetal bile acid metabolism: analysis of urinary 3beta-monohydroxy-delta(5) bile acid in preterm infants.
abstract: To elucidate the urinary concentration of total bile acids after birth and the profile of the usual and unusual urinary bile acids, especially 3beta-hydroxy-5-cholen-24-oic acid (Delta(5)-3beta-ol), we measured the concentrations of 13 bile acids in the urine from preterm infants vs. full-term controls by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The urinary concentration of total bile acids in early preterm infants below 32 weeks of gestational age significantly exceeded that of the late preterm and full-term infants (p < 0.0005). The major urinary bile acids in early preterm infants were cholic acid, 1beta,3alpha,7alpha,12alpha-tetrahydroxy-5beta-cholan-24-oic acid and Delta(5)-3beta-ol. In conclusion, the high urinary concentrations of total bile acids in preterm infants may be due to an overproduction, or more likely to a low hepatic bile acid clearance. An alternative fetal pathway, the acidic pathway, may be a major route of bile acid biosynthesis in preterm infants.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, Kurume University School of Medicine, Kurume, Japan.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yamato
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kimura
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Inoue
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kurosawa
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kato
mesh_terms: D001647:Bile Acids and Salts / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000652:urine*; D019826:Cholic Acid / Q000652:urine; D002793:Cholic Acids / Q000652:urine*; D003840:Deoxycholic Acid / Q000652:urine; D005333:Fetus / Q000378:metabolism*; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature / Q000652:urine*; D008095:Lithocholic Acid / Q000652:urine; D014580:Ursodeoxycholic Acid / Q000652:urine
chemical_list: D001647:Bile Acids and Salts; D002793:Cholic Acids; D003840:Deoxycholic Acid; C014596:3 beta-hydroxy-delta 5-cholenic acid; D008095:Lithocholic Acid; D014580:Ursodeoxycholic Acid; D019826:Cholic Acid