BILIARY LIPID-METABOLISM IN PREGNANT BABOON

  • 1 January 1977
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 144  (5) , 727-733
Abstract
The serum cholesterol value, bile acid pool size and kinetics as well as lipid composition of gallbladder bile were studied in 7 baboons during 9 pregnancies. During pregnancy, the percent decrease in the average serum cholesterol value ranged from 25.6-74.4%, mean 54.5 .+-. 14.3%, compared with that of antepartum averages. In 7 of the 9 pregnancies, chenodeoxycholic acid pool size decreased in the range of 40.1-86.6%. In 2 pregnancies, the pool size of this bile acid was essentially unchanged. Total bile acid pool size decreased from a mean of 990 .+-. 260 mg antepartum to 520 .+-. 200 mg in the 3rd trimester, P < 0.01. With regard to the cholesterol, phospholipid and bile salt content of gallbladder bile, cholesterol value decreased from an antepartum mean of 19.1 .+-. 3.9 to 14.1 .+-. 4.5 .mu.mol per ml in the 3rd trimester. The lithogenic index of gallbladder bile decreased during pregnancy. The baboon may be an inappropriate model for studies of the relationship of pregnancy to cholesterol cholelithiasis in humans. In the baboon, both serum and biliary cholesterol values decrease during pregnancy. In humans, serum cholesterol levels increase during pregnancy. If the content of biliary cholesterol is a reflection of the serum concentration of this lipid, human bile may be more lithogenic during pregnancy.