[Bile acids in the process of canalicular bile formation].

This review summarizes the current knowledge of the role of bile acid in the canalicular bile secretion: its membrane transport in hepatocyte; molecular mechanisms and pathways of its regulatory effects on membrane transporters; the role of its hydrophobicity in membrane transporter regulation; hepatocyte necrosis and apoptosis at cholestasis induced by hydrophobic bile acids; the possible mechanisms of protective effects of ursodeoxycholic acid in cholestatic impairment of the liver.