Significance of serum bile acids in small bowel allograft rejection in pigs.
OBJECTIVE
To examine changes in individual bile acids in serum in a pig model of allogenic small bowel transplantation.


METHODS
Seventeen pigs were divided into two groups: group 1 (n=10), controls; group 2 (n=7), allotransplantation, nonimmunosuppressed recipients. Both groups received a segmental intestine. Intestinal specimens for histologic studies were obtained at the end of cold flushing (T0) and on postoperative day 8 (T1). Total and individual bile acid concentrations were measured in serum samples taken at T0 and T1.


RESULTS
All animals survived until the end of the study. In group 1, intestinal histology revealed no significant changes between T0 and T1 specimens. In contrast, in group 2, graft histology revealed moderate to severe rejection at T1 in all specimens. In contrast to group 1, serum levels of total bile acids increased significantly in group 2 at T1 compared with baseline (P=0.001). The increase was due to secondary bile acids which were significantly higher at T1 compared with baseline (P=0.0003). In contrast, secondary bile acids increased but not significantly at T1 in group 1 compared with baseline (P=0.056).


CONCLUSIONS
Our study suggests that total and secondary serum bile acids may be a useful diagnostic tool for the diagnosis of acute intestinal rejection.
Yandza
Thierry
T
Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nice, Pôle Digestif, Service de Chirurgie Digestive, et de Transplantation Hépatique, Hôpital L'Archet II, Nice, France. yandza.t@chu-nice.fr
Gerhardt
Marie F
MF
Saint-Paul
Marie-C
MC
Braud
Véronique
V
Gugenheim
Jean
J
Hébuterne
Xavier
X
D000818:Animals; D001647:Bile Acids and Salts / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006084:Graft Rejection / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D007421:Intestine, Small / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D013552:Swine; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous / Q000276:immunology
D001647:Bile Acids and Salts