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Background Cholesterol crystallization is an essential step toward gallstone formation. Although model bile studies showed that competition occurs between the gallstone surface and the surrounding aqueous phase for cholesterol molecules available for crystallization, this has not been investigated in human bile. Methods Fresh gallbladder bile was obtained during laparoscopic cholecystectomy from 13 patients with cholesterol (n  = 10) or pigment (n  = 3) stones. Small cholesterol gallstones were collected from another two patients. Both native and ultrafiltered bile with or without added gallstones was analysed by polarized light microscopy for the presence of arc-like and needle-like anhydrous cholesterol crystals and classic cholesterol monohydrate crystals. Weight of the added stones was evaluated before and after 21 days of bile incubation. Results In unfiltered bile, the presence of stones was associated with a trend towards less anhydrous cholesterol crystals, but significantly more aggregated cholesterol monohydrate crystals. In ultrafiltered bile, the presence of stones tended to inhibit the formation of arc-like or needle-like crystals and was associated with significantly greater amounts of both plate-like and aggregated cholesterol monohydrate crystals. After 21 days of the incubation, stone weight was decreased in both unfiltered (–4.5 ± 1.6%, P  = 0.046) and ultrafiltered bile (–6.5 ± 1.5%, P  = 0.002). Bile from pigment-stone patients was clear in the absence of stones, but showed early appearance of plate-like and aggregated cholesterol monohydrate crystals in all samples to which cholesterol gallstones were added. Conclusions The physical presence of cholesterol gallstones in both native and filtered bile greatly influences cholesterol crystallization pathways. Whereas cholesterol monohydrate crystals increase, anhydrous cholesterol crystals tend to be inhibited. Detachment of solid cholesterol crystals from the gallstone surface may explain these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: We previously showed that activation of the bile salt nuclear receptor Farnesoid X Receptor (FXR) protects against intestinal inflammation in mice. Reciprocally, these inflammatory mediators may decrease FXR activation. We investigated whether FXR activation is repressed in the ileum and colon of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients in remission. Additionally, we evaluated whether genetic variation in FXR is associated with IBD. Methods: mRNA expression of FXR and FXR target gene SHP was determined in ileal and colonic biopsies of patients with Crohn's colitis (n = 15) and ulcerative colitis (UC; n = 12), all in clinical remission, and healthy controls (n = 17). Seven common tagging SNPs and two functional SNPs in FXR were genotyped in 2355 Dutch IBD patients (1162 Crohn's disease (CD) and 1193 UC) and in 853 healthy controls. Results: mRNA expression of SHP in the ileum is reduced in patients with Crohn's colitis but not in patients with UC compared to controls. mRNA expression of villus marker Villin was correlated with FXR and SHP in healthy controls, a correlation that was weaker in UC patients and absent in CD patients. None of the SNPs was associated with IBD, UC or CD, nor with clinical subgroups of CD. Conclusions: FXR activation in the ileum is decreased in patients with Crohn's colitis. This may be secondary to altered enterohepatic circulation of bile salts or transrepression by inflammatory signals but does not seem to be caused by the studied SNPs in FXR. Increasing FXR activity by synthetic FXR agonists may have benefit in CD patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The prevalence of Alcohol related Liver Disease (ALD) continues to rise all over the world due to changing drinking behaviour of the population. Liver disease due to excessive alcohol consumption causes significant morbidity and mortality, and poses a substantial economic burden to the health care resources. Early diagnosis and treatment of ALD may help prevent progression to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. The last decade has seen a rising interest in potential use of non-invasive tests in clinical practice, including diagnosis and monitoring of chronic liver diseases. Over the past few decades, breath testing has been investigated extensively in the diagnosis of ALD, and has shown promising results in predicting the early stages of ALD. A variety of breath tests have been utilised in this regard including the13Clabelled breath tests, aminopyrine breath test , galactose breath test , methacetin breath test, and keto-isocaproic acid breath test. These tests have demonstrated good results in identification of both significant and severe liver disease among patients with ALD. Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) are chemicals, which can be quantified in breath and other biological fluids, and represent physio-pathological activities within an individual. Alteration in the pattern of breath VOCs can be correlated with a number of diseases including ALD. Early stages of ALD can be detected using these breath tests, which can lead to adoption of preventive measures to reduce the progression of liver disease. This review focuses on the clinical utility of current and future breath tests, including breath VOC, as a non-invasive means of predicting early stages of ALD.