Cholesterol synthesis in the pathogenesis of lithocholic acid‐induced cholestasis

Lithocholic acid (LCA)‐induced intrahepatic cholestasis is associated with increased de novo synthesis of hepatic cholesterol and augmented cholesterol content of the liver cell plasma membrane fraction enriched in bile canalicular complexes (BCM). To determine whether inhibition of cholesterol synthesis could prevent LCA‐induced cholestasis, adult male Wistar rats were treated daily with the hypocholesterolemic agents, clofibrate (250 mg/kg) or mevinolin (25 mg/kg), for one, two or four days. After bile duct cannulation and bile collection for one hr, the animals were injected intravenously with 120 μmoles/kg of LCA or its carrier (albumin). Cholesterol synthesis was measured in liver homogenates, and its contribution to the BCM was estimated. LCA reduced bile flow by 51%, 35% and 25% after clofibrate pretreatment for one, two and four days, respectively, and by 51%, 30% and 42% in mevinolin‐pretreated animals after one, two and four days. In control animals, cholesterol synthesis and the contribution of newly synthesized cholesterol in the BCM were increased after LCA injection. However, despite that cholesterol synthesis and the contribution of newly synthesized cholesterol in the BCM were reduced in drug‐pretreated rats, LCA injection caused a relative increase in these parameters of a magnitude similar to that observed in controls. Thus, the ability of LCA injection to augment de novo cholesterol synthesis and its transport to the BCM may be an important pathogenetic step in the development of cholestasis.