title: Effect of gallbladder mucin on the crystallization of cholesterol in bile.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Mucin is supposed to accelerate the crystallization of cholesterol in model bile while studies in native human gallbladder bile revealed conflicting results.
  
  
  METHODS
  Therefore, we determined the relation of mucin concentration and cholesterol crystal observation time in gallbladder bile of 73 patients with cholesterol and mixed and 21 patients with pigment stones. In addition, bile samples of 20 patients with cholesterol gallstones were supplemented with either 0 (control) or 0.5-4.0 mg/ml purified bovine mucin or human mucin isolated from gallbladder bile, to study the effect of variable mucin concentrations on the crystallization of cholesterol.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Rapid nucleating biles (</= 4 days, n = 59) showed higher mucin concentrations (0.73 +/- 0.1 mg/ml vs 0.43 +/- 0.07 mg/ml) than biles with longer (> 4 days, n = 35) cholesterol crystal observation times (P < 0.05), but no correlation between mucin concentration and cholesterol crystal observation time was observed. Supplementation experiments with bovine purified mucin (up to 4.0 mg/ml) showed no significant effect on the total amount of newly formed cholesterol crystals within 21 days. However, higher amounts of newly formed cholesterol crystals were seen in bile samples supplemented with human mucin in comparison to negative controls.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results demonstrate a dose-dependent effect of human but not of bovine gallbladder mucin on the formation of cholesterol monohydrate crystals in gallbladder bile of patients with cholesterol stones. Therefore, studies of cholesterol crystallization in model bile systems may be valuable but should always be confirmed in native gallbladder bile as the more physiological effector system.
authors.affiliation: Departments of aMedicine II and bSurgery, Klinikum Grosshadern, Ludwig Maximilians-University Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wilhelmi
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Jüngst
authors.forename: Melissa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mock
authors.forename: Günther
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Meyer
authors.forename: Benedikta
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zündt
authors.forename: Reginald
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Del Pozo
authors.forename: Dieter
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Jüngst
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D001646:Bile / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000187:drug effects; D001647:Bile Acids and Salts / Q000032:analysis; D002417:Cattle; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000032:analysis / Q000737:chemistry*; D003460:Crystallization; D005260:Female; D005704:Gallbladder / Q000737:chemistry*; D042882:Gallstones / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D008055:Lipids / Q000032:analysis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009077:Mucins / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000032:analysis*; D010743:Phospholipids / Q000032:analysis; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D001647:Bile Acids and Salts; D008055:Lipids; D009077:Mucins; D010743:Phospholipids; D002784:Cholesterol