Abstract
We examined the effects of feeding deoxycholic acid (1% and 0.4% of diet), alone and in combination with ursodeoxycholic acid, on serum and biliary bile acid concentrations, hepatic morphology, and the activities and steady-state messenger RNA (mRNA) levels of HMG-CoA reductase and cholesterol 7α-hydroxylase in the rat. Feeding 1% deoxycholic acid increased serum bile acid concentrations (cholestasis), produced portal triad inflammation, bile duct proliferation, and severe hepatocyte necrosis with nuclear pleomorphism. Hepatic damage was prevented when ursodeoxycholic acid (1%) was combined with the deoxycholic acid (1%), or when deoxycholic acid intake was reduced to 0.4%. HMG-CoA reductase and cholesterol 7α-hydroxylase activities were markedly inhibited (-56% and -55%, respectively) with either 1% or 0.4% deoxycholic acid. Ursodeoxycholic acid alone produced an insignificant decline in HMG-CoA reductase and cholesterol 7α-hydroxylase activities, and when combined with 1% deoxycholic acid did not lessen the inhibitory effect of the latter. Steady state mRNA levels increased 20-fold for HMG-CoA reductase and 53-fold for cholesterol 7α-hydroxylase in rats fed 1% deoxycholic acid. In contrast, 0.4% deoxycholic acid decreased HMG-CoA reductase mRNA levels 76%, and cholesterol 7α-hydroxylase mRNA levels 82%. Ursodeoxycholic acid alone did not affect HMG-CoA reductase or cholesterol 7α-hydroxylase steady-state mRNA levels. Steady-state mRNA levels and activities of sterol 27-hydroxylase, a key enzyme in the alternative acidic pathway of bile acid synthesis, did not change with either high or low doses of deoxycholic acid. In conclusion, 1% deoxycholic acid induced hepatocyte destruction and regeneration associated with increased mRNA levels for HMG-CoA reductase and cholesterol 7α-hydroxylase, but significantly suppressed both enzyme activities. Thus, high-dose deoxycholic acid uncouples HMG-CoA reductase and cholesterol 7α-hydroxylase mRNA levels from enzyme function. In contrast, lower-dose deoxycholic acid (0.4%) inhibited both activities and mRNA levels of HMG-CoAreductase and cholesterol 7α-hydroxylase. Adding 1% ursodeoxycholic acid to 1% deoxycholic acid prevented the rise in mRNA levels but did not lessen the inhibitory effect of the latter. This inhibition occurred without change in hepatic histology, which suggests a regulatory role for deoxycholic acid that is independent of liver damage. Conversely, sterol 27-hydroxylase activity and mRNA levels are not affected by deoxycholic acid treatments.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1215-1221 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Hepatology |
| Volume | 22 |
| Issue number | 4 PART 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Oct 1995 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Abbreviations: mRNA, messenger RNA; SDS, sodium dodecyl sulfate. From the 1Department of Medicine and the Sammy Davis Jr. National Liver Institute, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ; 2Department of Medicine, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN; and SVeterans Affairs Medical Center, East Orange, NJ. Received August 16, 1994; accepted May 18, 1995. Address reprint requests to: Sarah Shefer, PhD, Sammy Davis Jr. Liver Center, MSB H534, 185 S Orange Ave, Newark, NJ 07103. Supported in part by U.S. Public Health Service grant noN. DK 26756, HL 17818, DK 18707, the Veterans Affairs Research Service, and a grant from Ciba-Geigy Corporation, Pharmaceuticals Division, Summit, NJ. Copyright © 1995 by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases. 0270-9139/95/2204-002853.00/0