Effects of gut hormones on bile acid uptake and release in cultured rat hepatocytes.

In cultured rat hepatocytes, the effects of gut hormones on bile acid uptake and release were studied. It was found that cultured hepatocytes continued to secrete bile acids into the culture medium and incorporated them effectively as a function of incubation time. Gut hormones such as secretin, glucagon, vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP), peptide histidine isoleucine (PHI), gastric inhibitory polypeptide (GIP), tetragastrin, cholecystokinin-octapeptide (CCK-8), pancreatic polypeptide (PP), neurotensin substance P, beta-endorphin (beta-End), methionine-enkephalin (Met-enk), motilin, bombesin and somatostatin (SS) had no effect on bile acid uptake by cultured hepatocytes. In bile acid release studies, only secretin caused a dose-dependent stimulation of bile acid release, while other gut hormones had no effect on bile acid release into medium. These results indicate that secretin acts directly on cultured rat hepatocytes and/or bile canaliculi, besides its effect on the bile duct, and influences bile acid metabolism.