Failure of bile acids to control hepatic cholesterogenesis: evidence for endogenous cholesterol feedback

Abstract

Studies were undertaken to define the role of bile acids in the control of hepatic cholesterogenesis from acetate. Both biliary diversion and biliary obstruction increase the rate of sterol synthesis by the liver 2.5- to 3-fold. After biliary diversion, however, the bile acid content of the liver is decreased, whereas after biliary obstruction, it is markedly increased. Thus, there is no relationship between the tissue content of bile acid and the rate of hepatic cholesterol synthesis. Furthermore, restoration of the enterohepatic circulation of bile acid in animals with biliary diversion fails to prevent the rise in synthetic activity seen after this manipulation. These data indicate that bile acid plays no direct inhibitory role in the regulation of cholesterol synthesis by the liver. Other experiments were therefore undertaken to evaluate the possibility that changes in cholesterogenic activity observed after manipulation of the enterohepatic circulation of bile acid actually are the result of changes in the enterolymphatic circulation of cholesterol. In support of this thesis it was found that intestinal lymphatic diversion causes the same specific enhancement of cholesterol synthetic activity as biliary diversion and that both of these operative procedures increase enzymatic activity at the step mediated by beta-hydroxy-beta-methyl glutaryl reductase. Furthermore, the increase in the rate of sterol synthesis by the liver seen in animals with biliary diversion can be prevented by the infusion of approximately 7 mg of cholesterol/24 hr in the form of chylomicrons. This is an amount of cholesterol circulating normally in the enterolymphatic circulation of the intact rat.These results indicate that bile acid plays no direct role in the control of hepatic cholesterogenesis, but rather, it is the enterohepatic circulation of endogenous cholesterol that determines directly the rate at which cholesterol is synthesized by the liver.