The Role of Bile and Bile Acids in Bacterial Translocation in Obstructive Jaundice in Rats

Abstract

Male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into five groups in which group 1 received a sham operation (controls), groups 2-5 underwent common bile duct ligation and transection 14 days before the experiments. Two days prior to the studies, animals in groups 1 and 2 received saline orally, while groups 3–5 received an oral administration of either cholic acid, deoxycholic acid or whole bile. Specimens were taken for bacterial culture, and blood was collected for endotoxin assay. The rate of positive bacterial cultures from mesenteric lymph nodes in jaundiced salinetreated animals was significantly higher (p < 0.05) as compared with both controls and the other jaundiced animals treated with either bile or bile acids. Assays were positive for endotoxin in the jaundiced salinetreated group, whereas they were negative in both controls and bile- or bile-acid-treated animals. We conclude that oral administration of cholic acid, deoxycholic acid or whole bile inhibited bacterial translocation and endotoxin absorption in obstructive jaundice in the rat.

Intestinal bile acid physiology and pathophysiology

“…This hypothesis is supported by the findings that cholestasis results in bacterial overgrowth in the small intestine and increased translocation, which are counteracted in experimental models by oral BAs [36,37] . The FXR mediated induction by BAs of antibacterial genes such as angiogenin, carbonic anhydrase 12 and inducible nitric oxide synthase may account for this effect [38] .…”

Conjugated primary bile salts reduce permeability of endotoxin through intestinal epithelial cells and synergize with phosphatidylcholine in suppression of inflammatory cytokine production

“…Hence, from animal models of obstructive jaundice, a causative role of endotoxin in postoperative complications can be concluded. This hypothesis is confirmed by experiments with bile-deprived rats with a chronic cannulation of their common bile duct, showing a considerable intestinal endotoxin translocation (37), which was reversible by oral supplementation with both conjugated and nonconjugated bile salts (38,39).…”

Cross-talk between bile acids and intestinal microbiota in host metabolism and health

“…Interestingly, oral BAs can activate FXR and inhibit the bacterial proliferation resulting from biliary obstruction in rodents, and then protect the ileum from microbial infection (Ding et al, 1993;LorenzoZúñiga et al, 2003). Inagaki et al (2006) showed that BA-activated FXR can induce the expression of genes, such as Ang1, iNos, and Il18, which are involved in enteroprotection.…”