Role of osteopontin in diet-induced brown gallstone formation in rats.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Although osteopontin (OPN) is expressed in the liver and pigment gallstones of patients with hepatolithiasis, its role in pigment gallstone formation remains unclear. This study aimed to explore the function of OPN in pigment gallstone formation.

Methods

Rats were fed a chow diet (CD) or lithogenic diet (LD) for 10 consecutive weeks; blocking tests were then performed using an OPN antibody (OPN-Ab). Incidence of gallstones and levels of several bile components, OPN, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), and cholesterol 7 alpha-hydroxylase (CYP7A1) were analyzed. To determine TNF-α expression in hepatic macrophages and both CYP7A1 and bile acid (BA) expression in liver cells, recombinant rat OPN and recombinant rat TNF-α were used to treat rat hepatic macrophages an

SUBMITTER: Jin CG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8116003 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature