Bile acid fractionations by high-performance liquid chromatography in equine liver disease

Abstract

Serum bile acids were fractionated by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) in 13 control and 8 cases of liver disease in horses. The severity and type of liver injury was determined by histopathological examination of biopsy and/or necropsy specimens. The total serum bile acids (tSBA) were determined in these horses by an enzymatic method (SBA-EA) and by summation of the bile acids (SBA-LC) as fractionated by the HPLC. The SBA-LC were generally higher than the SBA-EA in both the controls and liver disease and they did not parallel each other. The primary bile acids, total cholates and total chenodeoxycholates accounted for most of the tSBA increases in liver disease. There was a shift in profile from taurocholate to free (unconjugated) cholate in direct relation to the severity of the liver injury. Among the secondary bile acids, total deoxycholates and total taurodeoxycholates increased at random. The pattern of the SBA profile in relation to the severity of the liver disease suggested that hepatocellular excretion is the most sensitive step in the enterohepatic circulation of the bile acids.

Intravascular Hemolysis Associated with Liver Disease in a Horse with Marked Neutrophil Hypersegmentation

“…10 Total cholates and total chenodeoxycholates account for most of the bile acids in normal horses and in horses with liver disease. 11 Studies that use human erythrocytes indicate that chenodeoxycholates are much more prone to cause hemolysis than cholates, but it is not known whether the same holds true for horse erythrocytes. 7 Erythrocytes appearing as ''burr cells'' have previously been reported in the blood of horses with intravascular hemolysis and liver failure.…”

Serum Bile Acids Concentrations in Healthy and Clinically III Neonatal Foals

“…7 In healthy adult horses, high-performance liquid chromatography results suggest that ursodeoxycholate, chenodeoxycholate, and deoxycholate account for approximately 86% of the total bile acids found in the serum. 12 Because these are all unconjugated primary bile acids, they should be readily detected by the enzymatic protocol.…”

“…This bias was not unexpected. The majority of serum bile acids in the mature horse are unconjugated, 12 and the antiserum in the RIA kit primarily detects the conjugated forms of cholate and chenodeoxycholate. e The GGT and SDH activities of the healthy foals are in good agreement with previously reported values in the neonatal period in which, compared with healthy adult horses, there is minimal to no difference in SDH activity, 10,13 and GGT activity is higher 2 to 4 weeks post-partum.…”

Peritoneal bile acids concentration in adult horses with hepatic and gastrointestinal disorders

“…1 Concentrations of total plasma bile acids between 5 and 28 µmol/L have been reported in normal adult horses. 2 Increased plasma bile acids concentration are highly specific for the presence of liver insufficiency in horses but is not specific for the type of liver disease. 1,3,4 Certain metabolites and enzymes present in the equine peritoneal fluid have been evaluated as indicators of ischaemia, inflammation or other abdominal disorders.…”

“…Concentrations of total plasma bile acids between 5 and 28 µmol/L have been reported in normal adult horses 2 . Increased plasma bile acids concentration are highly specific for the presence of liver insufficiency in horses but is not specific for the type of liver disease 1,3,4 …”