Clinicopathological characteristics of Xanthogranulomatous cholecystitis in 112 consecutive cases treated surgically

Abstract

Introduction: The enterokine fibroblast growth factor 19 (FGF19) represses bile salt (BS) synthesis in the liver. It is hypothesized that production of FGF19 shifts to the liver in patients with obstructive cholestasis. To study the origin of FGF19 under conditions of cholestasis, we studied venousarterial (VA) differences across major abdominal organs. Methods: Plasma levels of BS, FGF19 and C4 (plasma marker of BS synthesis) were determined in arterial blood (RA), and portal (PV), hepatic (HV), superior (SMV) and inferior mesenteric (IMV) veins of cholestatic patients (n = 6) and controls (n=14), who underwent pancreatic surgery. Results: FGF19 levels were higher in all blood vessels of cholestatic patients (range 0.37e34.0 ng/mL) compared with controls (range 0.03e0.37 ng/mL) (P< 0.001). Likewise, in cholestasis BS levels were increased in all