Hepatic taurine, glycine and individual bile acids in early human fetus

• Published in: Early human development Vol. 57; no. 1; pp. 71 - 77
• Main Authors: Itoh, Susumu, Onishi, Shoju
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Lausanne Elsevier Ireland Ltd 2000; New York,NY Elsevier; Amsterdam
• Subjects: Abortion, Induced; Bile acid pool; Bile Acids and Salts - analysis; Biological and medical sciences; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gestational Age; Glycine - analysis; Hepatic bile acids; HPLC; Humans; Lithocholic acid; Liver - chemistry; Liver - embryology; Metabolisms and neurohumoral controls; Nitrogen metabolism. Proteins. Glycoproteins. Nucleic acids. Collagen; Pregnancy; Taurine - analysis; Taurine metabolism; Vertebrates: anatomy and physiology, studies on body, several organs or systems; Hepatic bile acids; Taurine metabolism; Bile acid pool; HPLC; Lithocholic acid; Human; Taurine; Pregnancy disorders; Digestive system; Liver; HPLC chromatography; Glycine; Metabolism; Abortion; Bile acid; Aminoacid; Fetus; Conjugated compound
• ISSN: 0378-3782; 1872-6232
• DOI: 10.1016/S0378-3782(99)00053-5

Objective: To examine 3α-hydroxy individual bile acid and the association between taurine and taurine-conjugated bile acid in human fetal liver.
Methods:Taurine, glycine and the individual bile acids in liver samples taken from 17 human fetuses whose abortion was induced from 12 to 23 weeks’ gestation were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography.
Results: The concentrations of taurine, glycine and bile acids in early fetal life were not related to gestational age. Hepatic taurine was statistically correlated with total taurine-conjugates (
r=0.798;
P<0.0001), but hepatic glycine was not correlated with glycine-conjugates (
r=−0.103;
P>0.05). Lithocholic acid was conjugated exclusively with taurine.
Conclusions: Our results supported that in human fetal life there is a considerable bile acid pool in liver, and that taurine works effectively on the bile acid metabolism depending on the hepatic taurine concentration.