Can Intestinal Infections Affect Bile Composition? Study Sheds Light

The researchers hypothesized that during infection, there is a shift in the composition and function of bile, given that it is an important part of communication between the liver and gut.

Using a mouse model, this study used global metabolic analysis to investigate changes in metabolites during an enteric infection. The mice were infected with one of two pathogens, L. monocytogenes, which replicates in the intestine, liver and gall bladder, or C. rodentium, which replicates in the caecum and colon. The different infection groups led to both shared and specific changes in bile metabolites. Moreover, hundreds of new metabolites that are in the bile metabolome were described. More specifically, the researchers found that enteric infection dynamically changes the composition of bile in order to provide intestinal defense. While these findings bridge a large gap in knowledge regarding bile composition, the researchers note that the 812 bile metabolites identified in this study likely only represent a subset of all bile metabolites. They predict that more will be discovered as tandem mass spectrometry techniques improve.

Reference: https://www.brighamandwomens.org/about-bwh/newsroom/research-briefs-detail?id=4833