Bile acid sulfates: II. Synthesis of 3-monosulfates of bile acids and their conjugates

Bile acid 3-monosulfates were synthesized by the sulfation of 3-hydroxy formyloxy bile acids with sulfur trioxide-triethylamine in dimethylformamide at 25 C for 0.5 hr. The protecting formyl groups were then hydrolyzed under mild alkaline conditions, and the deformylated products were isolated as p-toluidinium salts. These p-toluidinium salts were converted easily to the corresponding disodium salts by methanolic sodium hydroxide. Disodium salts were then isolated by precipitation from methanolether. The corresponding glycine conjugates were similarly synthesized by the sulfation of ethyl esters of 3-hydroxy formyloxy bile acid glycine conjugates. However, the taurine-conjugated bile acid sulfates were obtained by conjugating bile acid 3-monosulfates, either as triethylammonium salt or as disodium salt, with taurine in dimethylformamide in the presence of N-ethoxycarbonyl-2-ethoxy-1,2-dihydroquinoline. These procedures produced the desired bile acid sulfates in high yield (typically above 90%) with minimum manipulation. No time-consuming and capacity-limited chromatographic purification was needed to isolate the pure sulfates. The thin layer chromatographic mobilities, the infrared spectra, and some of the preliminary studies of the properties of these synthesized 3-monosulfates are also discussed. Part I of this series, see reference 18.     

Analysis of fecal neutral steroids and bile acids in humans on constant fat diet

A method is described for the separation and quantification of fecal neutral steroids and fecal bile acids. The fecal extract is separated into the neutral steroid fraction and bile acid fraction with ionexchange resin columns. The principal neutral steroids and bile acids are then separated and quantitated by thin-layer chromatography. Values for the fecal neutral steroids, cholesterol, coprostanol and coprostanone and fecal bile acids, deoxycholic acid and lithocholic acid of 5 subjects on a constant fat diet for a 3-week period are presented.     

Identification of steroids by chemical ionization mass spectrometry

Chemical ionization (CI) mass spectra of various natural and synthetic steroids have been studied using methane, isobutane, ammonia, trideuterioammonia and hydroxy anion as reagent gases. The CI spectra of steroids give simple and well characterized ions, which provide information about molecular weight as well as functionalities in the molecules. Trideuterioammonia exchanges rapidly with active hydrogens (e.g., OH, SH, COOH, NH₂) in steroid molecules in the CI reaction and thus provides a convenient means of active hydrogen determination by mass spectrometry. Application of various CI processes to the analysis of steroids and conjugates have been made. Low levels of hydroxycholesterols in biological samples and in cholesterol autoxidation products were identified by the 4 ion patterns, [M+NH₄]⁺, [M−OH+NH₃]⁺, [M−OH]⁺ and [M−H₂ O−OH]⁺, in ammonia CI. The position of hydroxy functions in the cholesterol side chain can be identified from the methane CI of hydroxycholesterol trimethylsilyl (TMS) derivatives. Sterol carboxylic esters can be identified as the ammonium adduct ion of the intact molecule, [M+NH₄]⁺, in ammonia CI. Isobutane and hydroxy anion CI spectra of the steroid esters give abundant ion fragments of both steroids and carboxylic acid moieties. Identification of free bile acids and steroid glycosides without derivatization is also feasible with the CI process when ammonia is used as reagent gas.     

Biohydrogenation of cholesterol as an index of bacterial 7α-dehydroxylase activity

Fecal steroid compositions of 82 human subjects of various ages and diets and gastrointestinal status were examined by gas liquid chromatography. Progressive increases in bacterial activities on both bile acids and neutral sterols were observed with the advance of age in infants and children. The patterns in the 4-year-olds approached those observed in adults. Bacterial activites on fecal steroids were found to be decreased in adult subjects with acute shigellosis and in those challenged by castor oil. In contrast, no significant changes in fecal steroid profiles were observed in the subjects with traveller's diarrhea assoicated with toxigenicEscherichia coli. The effects of diarrhea on fecal steroids of infants under 1^1/2 years were less consistent than those of adults. However, a close relationship was observed between the degree of 7α-dehydroxylation of cholic acid (expressed as the ratio of deoxycholic to the sum of deoxycholic and cholic acids) and the percentage of cholesterol in the feces (r= 0.921, p<0.001). The correlation between the production of lithocholic acid and the percentage cholesterol was also good (r=−0.739, p<0.001). Analysis of neutral steroids may be a good index of intraluminal bile acid metabolism.     

Evidence for distinct precursor pools for biliary cholesterol and primary bile acids in cebus and cynomolgus monkeys

The abnormal metabolism and distribution of plasma lipoproteins have been associated with atherosclerosis and gallstones. To better understand the process of cholesterol excretion, a study was designed to determine whether the contribution of lipoprotein free¹⁴C-cholesterol (as LDL or HDL) to biliary cholesterol or primary bile acids differs in two species of nonhuman primates, cebus and cynomolgus monkeys, having opposite plasma LDL/HDL ratios. Since amino acid conjugation might influence bile acid synthesis or secretion, the taurine and glycine conjugates of newly synthesized primary bile acids, cholic acid (CA) and chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA), were measured in the species capable of conjugating with taurine or glycine (cynomolgus). After total bile acid pool washout, monkeys were infused with human LDL or HDL labeled with free¹⁴C-cholesterol, and the specific activities (SA) of biliary cholesterol and primary bile acid conjugates were determined. In both species, regardless of the lipoprotein infused, the SA of biliary cholesterol and CA were greater than those for total bile acids and CDCA, respectively. In cynomolgus, the SA of glycine conjugates was higher for CA than CDCA, while the SA of taurine conjugates was greater for CDCA than CA. Under these conditions, (i) infused lipoprotein free cholesterol (as either LDL or HDL) contributed more to biliary cholesterol than to bile acids and more to CA than to CDCA; (ii) glycine conjugated preferentially with CA rather than CDCA, while taurine was the preferred conjugate for CDCA. Further, whereas the two primary bile acids had similar rates of synthesis and turnover in cynomolgus, basal bile acid synthesis was much greater in cebus and the CDCA turnover appeared disproportionately large.     

Studies on N-nitroso bile acid amides in relation to their possible role in gastrointestinal cancer

Cancers of the gastrointestinal tract account for a large proportion of neoplastic diseases which afflict humans. The etiology of gastrointestinal cancer has been attributed in part to exogenous carcinogens, such as food substances and environmental pollutants. Recent hypotheses suggest that carcinogens may arise endogenously. Evidence suggests that some bile acids and their isomeric metabolites may be involved in the pathogenesis of colon cancer. However, the mechanism responsible for their cancer-promoting effect is not clear. We and others propose that one mechanism for the mitogenic effects of bile acids may be N-nitrosation of their glycine and taurine amides; human gastric aspirates do contain small quantities of N-nitroso compounds of other substrates. Many foods contain nitrites and nitrates, which can react with bile acid amides to form N-nitroso derivatives. Our recent studies demonstrated the potential for N-nitroso conjugate formation from ursodeoxycholic acid, a 7β-epimer of chenodeoxycholic acid used as a drug Actigall^® to dissolve gallstones. The N-nitroso derivative of this compound, a direct-acting carcinogen, has a long half-life and, once nitrosated, is stable enough to survive passage through the gastrointestinal tract. We describe the synthesis of N-nitrosated derivatives of various bile acid conjugates and mechanisms of decomposition of (Z)- and (E)-bile acid diazoates. Studies of the effects of enzymes such as cholylglycine hydrolase on the N-nitroso bile acid conjugates and their reaction with DNA are also described. These studies may have important implications in the interplay of diet with endogenous substrates in the etiology of cancers of the stomach, liver, and colon.     

Biliary and fecal steroid excretion in rats fed partially hydrogenated soybean oil

Male Wistar rats were fed cholesterol-free or cholesterol-enriched diets containing partially hydrogenated soybean oil with different levels of trans-fatty acids or unhydrogenated soybean oil at the 10% level. The linoleic acid content of hydrogenated fat diets was adjusted to 3.6% of the total energy. Hydrogenated fat diets contained 29% and 41% trans-acids, mainly as t-18:1. Trans-fats exerted no untoward effects on growth parameters, but increased liver weight. Dietary hydrogenated fats influenced neither the concentration nor composition of biliary steroids, irrespective of the presence or absence of cholesterol in the diet. In rats fed a cholesterol-free diet, daily fecal output of neutral and acidic steroids was enhanced by hydrogenated fats and the magnitude of augmentation was proportional to the dietary level of trans-fatty acids. The increased fecal steroid excretion corresponded to an increase in total excreta. Hydrogenated fats also tended to enhance bile acid excretion when feeding a cholesterol-enriched diet. The results suggest that dietary trans-fatty acids, in relation to cis-polyunsaturated fatty acids, provoke demonstrable change in steroid homeodynamics.     

Sulfated bile acid in urine of patients with hepatobiliary diseases

The presence of sulfated bile acid in urine of patients with hepatobiliary diseases was recognized by using an Amberlite XAD-2 column for extraction of bile acid and a Sephadex LH-20 column for separation of sulfated (sulfate of either taurine or glycine conjugate) and nonsulfated bile acid (taurine and glycine conjugate). Sulfated and nonsulfated bile acid, obtained after a Sephadex LH-20 column of urinary extract of the patient with acute hepatitis, was identified by thin layer chromatography. Sulfated bile acid showed a spot with different Rf value from that of taurine-conjugated, glycine-conjugated and free bile acid, and solvolysis of sulfated bile acid resulted in a compound with the same Rf value as glycodihydroxycholanoic acid. A large amount of bile acid sulfate was found in urine of patients with hepatobiliary diseases. The sulfated bile acid in these urine samples occupied from 57.1 to 93.3% of total bile acid, and consisted of both di-and trihydroxycholanoic acid (major part, chenodeoxycholic acid). As no solvolysis was carried out in previous works, bile acid sulfate in urine, as described in this paper, was not determined at all.     

Determination of Bile Acids in Piglet Bile by Solid Phase Extraction and Liquid Chromatography-Electrospray Tandem Mass Spectrometry

An LC/MS/MS‐based method was developed for the determination of individual bile acids (BA) and their conjugates in porcine bile samples. The C18‐based solid‐phase extraction (SPE) procedure was optimized so that all 19 target BA and their glycine and taurine conjugates were collected with high recoveries for standards (89.1–100.2 %). Following this, all 19 compounds were separated and quantified in a single 12 min chromatographic run. The method was validated in terms of linearity, sensitivity, accuracy, precision, and recovery. An LOD in the low ppb range with measured precisions in the range of 0.5–9.3 % was achieved. The recoveries for all of the 19 analytes in bile samples were all >80 %. The validated method was successfully applied to the profiling of BA and their conjugates in the bile from piglets treated with exogenous glucagon‐like peptide‐2 (GLP‐2) in a preclinical model of neonatal parenteral nutrition‐associated liver disease (PNALD). The method developed is rapid and could be easily implemented for routine analysis of BA and their conjugates in other biofluids or tissues.     

Cholesterol metabolism in swine fed diets containing either casein or soybean protein

Diets containing casein produce higher concentrations of serum cholesterol in swine than those containing soybean protein, but only when such diets contain high levels of cholesterol. We suggest that dietary casein causes an increase in the absorption of cholesterol and bile acids, thus explaining the observed decrease in fecal excretion of neutral steroids and bile acids when compared to soybean protein. The mechanism in molecular terms by which dietary proteins influence steroid absorption remains to be established.     

Sulfated and nonsulfated bile acid in human serum

The presence of sulfated bile acid in serum of healthy persons and patients with hepatobiliary diseases was recognized by using an Amberlite XAD-2 column for extraction of bile acid and utilizing a Sephadex LH-20 column for separation of sulfated bile acid (sulfate of either taurine or glycine conjugate), and nonsulfated bile acid (taurine and glycine conjugate. The values of nonsulfate determined in this study were almost similar to the level of total serum bile acid reported by previous workers. A small amount of sulfated bile acid was found in normal serum, and the percentage of sulfated to total bile acid was ca. 10%. In patients with hepatobiliary diseases, both levels of sulfated and nonsulfated bile acid in serum rose, but sulfate did not increase in parallel to the level of nonsulfate. A remarkable increase of serum-sulfated bile acid could be observed in patients with cholestasis, while a slight elevation was noted in patients with chronic hepatocellar insufficiency. The percentage of sulfated to total bile acid was from 1.8 to 21.2% in patients with hepatobiliary diseases. Sulfated bile acid in serum consisted of only dihydroxycholanoic acid, deoxycholic and chenodeoxycholic acid. As no solvolysis was not carried out in previous works, bile acid sulfate in serum as described in this study was not determined at all.     

Biosynthesis of piperazic acid via N5-hydroxy-ornithine in Kutzneria spp. 744

Which came first? We have investigated the biosynthesis of the piperazic acid (Piz) building blocks in the kutzneride family of metabolites. The flavin-dependent oxygenase KtzI was shown to convert ornithine to N(5)-OH-Orn. LC-MS/MS showed (13)C(5)-labeled versions of these two amino acids to be direct precursors of piperazic acid in vivo.     

Microaerophilic biodegradation of tallow-based anionic detergents in river water

Nine anionic detergents from five general classes (alcohol sulfates, ether alcohol sulfates, sulfated alkanolamides, α-sulfo esters and alkylbenzenesul-fonates) were rapidly screened for biodegradability under aerobic and microaerophilic conditions in river water at 25 and 35 C. In decreasing order, the ease of biodegradation under microaerophilic conditions at 35 C was as follows: alcohol sulfates, sulfated alkanolamides, α-sulfo fatty acid esters and ether alcohol sulfates. Linear alkylbenzenesulfonate did not degrade. Presented at the AOCS Meeting, New Orleans, April 1970.     

Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor (AhR) Activation by 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-Dioxin (TCDD) Dose-Dependently Shifts the Gut Microbiome Consistent with the Progression of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Gut dysbiosis with disrupted enterohepatic bile acid metabolism is commonly associated with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and recapitulated in a NAFLD-phenotype elicited by 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) in mice. TCDD induces hepatic fat accumulation and increases levels of secondary bile acids, including taurolithocholic acid and deoxycholic acid (microbial modified bile acids involved in host bile acid regulation signaling pathways). To investigate the effects of TCDD on the gut microbiota, the cecum contents of male C57BL/6 mice orally gavaged with sesame oil vehicle or 0.3, 3, or 30 µg/kg TCDD were examined using shotgun metagenomic sequencing. Taxonomic analysis identified dose-dependent increases in Lactobacillus species (i.e., Lactobacillus reuteri). Increased species were also associated with dose-dependent increases in bile salt hydrolase sequences, responsible for deconjugation reactions in secondary bile acid metabolism. Increased L. reuteri levels were further associated with mevalonate-dependent isopentenyl diphosphate (IPP) biosynthesis and o-succinylbenzoate synthase, a menaquinone biosynthesis associated gene. Analysis of the gut microbiomes from cirrhosis patients identified an increased abundance of genes from the mevalonate-dependent IPP biosynthesis as well as several other menaquinone biosynthesis genes, including o-succinylbenzoate synthase. These results extend the association of lactobacilli with the AhR/intestinal axis in NAFLD progression and highlight the similarities between TCDD-elicited phenotypes in mice to human NAFLD.     

Bile acid metabolism in mammals: VI. Effect of ethionine upon bile acids of rat bile

Sex differences in the effect of ethionine upon rat liver metabolism prompted our investigation into possible sex differences in the effect of ethionine upon bile acid metabolism. The bile ducts of 24 rats, 12 male and 12 female, were cannulated. After 1 hr of bile collection, 6 rats of each sex were given ethionine, 1 mg/g body wt, by feeding tube. The bile acid composition of the bile collected during the subsequent 4 hr was analyzed by combined thin layer and gas chromatography. Ethionine induced a reduction in bile flow (3rd and 4th hr) and in bile acid concentration (4th hr) in female rats. The amino acid had no effect upon bile flow but did increase biliary secretion of bile acids (1st and 2nd hr) in male rats. Cholic acid accounted for the bulk of the reduction in total bile acid secretion in the female studies. The increase in total bile acid secretion in the male studies involved all bile acids. The effects of ethionine upon bile acid secretion were delayed in the female studies, immediate in the male. The changes in bile acid secretion involved only the taurine conjugates in the female studies, both taurine and glycine conjugates in the male. There are substantial sex differences in the effect of ethionine upon bile acid metabolism in the rat.     

Hepatic biotransformation and choleretic effect of 7-ketolithocholic acid in the rat

Hepatic biotransformation and the effect on bile flow of 7-ketolithocholic acid (7-oxo-3α-hydroxy-5β-cholan-24-oic acid), in comparison to ursodeoxycholic acid, were examined in rats under conditions of continuous infusion of solutions of sodium salts of these bile acids (1.2μmol/min/100 g body wt) for 2 hr. Both bile salts elevated the bile flow rate as well as the bile bicarbonate concentration to a similar degree. The minor difference observed was a transient (10–20 min) and subtle drop of bile flow during the first hour in rats given 7-ketolithocholate. In ursodeoxycholate infused rats, the major bile salt in the bile was its taurine conjugate, although excretion of tauroursodeoxycholate dropped considerably during the second hour. In 7-ketolithocholate infused rats, the major bile salt in the bile was again, its taurine conjugate, but ursodeoxycholate and chenodeoxycholate and their conjugates were also excreted. In contrast to ursodeoxycholate infused rats, the drop in excretion of taurine conjugates and the increase of glycine conjugates in rats infused with 7-ketolithocholate were more rapid. In rats infused with 7-ketolithocholate, excretion of ursodeoxycholate and its conjugates was significantly higher than the corresponding values for chenodeoxycholate, suggesting that 7-ketolithocholate is reduced predominatly to the 7β-epimer in this species. However, the concentration of ursodeoxycholate and its conjugates excreted into the bile in rats infused with 7-ketolithocholate was only 10% of that of rats infused with ursodeoxycholate, yet the magnitude of choleresis and the rise in bile bicarbonate concentration were similar in both experiments. Therefore, it is suggested that the bicarbonate-rich bile, induced by 7-ketolithocholate infusion, is caused mainly by 7-ketolithocholate rather than by its metabolite, ursodeoxycholate.     

Effects of different levels of dietarytrans-octadecenoate on steroid metabolism in rats

Rats were fed semipurified diets containing olive oil or partially hydrogenated corn oil at the 5 or 20% level for ca. 30 days. These fat diets contained the same amount of octadecenoate but differed in the geometry with respect to each fat level. Contents oft-18∶1 were 26% and 41% of total fatty acids, respectively. The linoleic acid content was also made equivalent (3.8 energy %). After feeding on cholesterol-free diets, rats ontrans fat, compared to those oncis fat, showed: (a) no changes in serum cholesterol and apolipoprotein levels, (b) no effects on the bile flow and concentrations of biliary cholesterol or bile acids, (c) a trend toward increased fecal excretion of neutral and acidic steroids, (d) a lesser extent of transformation of cholesterol to coprostanol in the gut, and (e) no changes in the composition of biliary and fecal bile acids. Observations (c) and (d) were more marked with a hightrans fat regimen. These observations, except for serum apolipoproteins and fecal steroid excretion, were practically reproducible even when rats were fed cholesterol-enriched diets. A preliminary part of this study was presented at the 74th annual AOCS meeting, Chicago, 1983.     

氨基酸生物合成中除草剂靶酶研究进展

氨基酸在植物的生长过程中起着至关重要的作用,以氨基酸生物合成过程中的酶作为靶标,是研发除草剂的一个重要方向和热点。ALS、EPSPS等是非常成功的除草剂靶酶。随着植物生理和生物化学的发展,氨基酸生物合成中的除草剂靶酶的研究有了新的进展,开发出新的潜在的除草剂靶酶和具有一定除草效果的潜在抑制剂。     

Identification of sterols and bile acids by computerized gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

In mass spectrometry, sterols and bile acids form fragment ions characteristic of certain steroid structures. After separation of derivatized sterols or bile acids by the gas chromatograph and fragmentation in the mass spectrometer, data collected by the computer can be collated to provide a reconstructed gas chromatogram and a series of fragment ion current chromatograms in which the relative abundances of characteristic fragment ions are plotted vs time or scan number. Intensities of these fragment ions will be greatest and hence coincide with peak elution of unidentified sterols or bile acids. The use of known amounts of labeled appropriate sterols or bile acids permits quantitation of the identified sterol or bile acid.