Hepatic bile acid transport increases in the postprandial state: A functional 11C-CSar PET/CT study in healthy humans
Year: 2021
Type: article
Abstract: Background & Aims It is not known how hepatic bile acids transport kinetics changes postprandially in the intact liver. We used positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) with the tracer [ N -methyl- 11 C]cholylsarcosine ( 11 C-CSar), a synthetic sarcosine conjugate of cholic acid, to quantify fasting and postprandial hepatic bile acid transport kinetics in healthy human participants. Methods Six healthy human participants underwent dynamic liver 11 C-CSar PET/CT (60 min) during fasting and from 15 min after ingestion of a standard liquid meal. Hepatobiliary secretion kinetics of 11 C-CSar was calculated from PET data, blood samples (arterial and hepatic venous) and hepatic blood flow measured using indocyanine green infusion. Results In the postprandial state, hepatic blood perfusion increased on average by 30% ( p <0.01), and the flow-independent hepatic intrinsic clearance of 11 C-CSar from blood into bile increased by 17% from 1.82 (range, 1.59–2.05) to 2.13 (range, 1.75–2.50) ml blood/min/ml liver tissue ( p = 0.042). The increased intrinsic clearance of 11 C-CSar was not caused by changes in the basolateral clearance efficacy of 11 C-CSar but rather by an upregulated apical transport, as shown by an increase in the rate constant for apical secretion of 11 C-CSar from hepatocyte to bile from 0.40 (0.25–0.54) min −1 to 0.67 (0.36–0.98) min −1 ( p = 0.03). This resulted in a 33% increase in the intrahepatic bile flow ( p = 0.03). Conclusions The rate constant for the transport of bile acids from hepatocytes into biliary canaliculi and the bile flow increased significantly in the postprandial state. This reduced the mean 11 C-CSar residence time in the hepatocytes. Lay summary Bile acids are important for digestion of dietary lipids including vitamins. We examined how the secretion of bile acids by the liver into the intestines changes after a standard liquid meal. The transport of bile acids from liver cells into bile and bile flow was increased after the meal.
Source: JHEP Reports
Institution: Aarhus University Hospital
Language: English
Subfield: Oncology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,260
OpenAlex ID: W3153611483