Halpern Z, Dudley M A, Kibe A, Lynn M P, Breuer A C, Holzbach R T
Gastroenterology. 1986 Apr;90(4):875-85. doi: 10.1016/0016-5085(86)90863-2.
Rapid nucleation of cholesterol crystals has previously been shown to provide a sharp discrimination between abnormal (cholesterol gallstone-associated) and normal human gallbladder bile. In the present study, we sought to further clarify the crystal nucleation process by time-lapse microscopy using a novel high-resolution video-enhanced microscopy technique. Using a previously described method for removal of particles from abnormal biles, we found a strikingly rapid rate of de novo formation of unilamellar vesicles, soon followed by massive vesicular aggregation, culminating in crystal formation. In normal biles, by contrast, this rapid aggregation process was not observed and the isolated unilamellar vesicles showed prolonged stability. Morphometric analysis of interval particle counts showed statistically significant differences. The process of cholesterol monohydrate crystal nucleation in supersaturated human bile is characterized by a sequential combination of vesicle formation, vesicle aggregation, and subsequent crystal formation. The primary distinction between abnormal and normal biles resides only in the consistent rapidity of onset and completion of these events in the abnormal biles.
先前的研究表明，胆固醇晶体的快速成核能够清晰地区分异常（与胆固醇胆结石相关的）和正常的人体胆囊胆汁。在本研究中，我们试图通过使用一种新型的高分辨率视频增强显微镜技术进行延时显微镜观察，进一步阐明晶体成核过程。使用先前描述的从异常胆汁中去除颗粒的方法，我们发现单层囊泡从头形成的速度惊人地快，随后很快出现大量囊泡聚集，最终形成晶体。相比之下，在正常胆汁中，未观察到这种快速聚集过程，分离出的单层囊泡显示出延长的稳定性。间隔颗粒计数的形态计量分析显示出统计学上的显著差异。过饱和人体胆汁中胆固醇一水合物晶体成核过程的特征是囊泡形成、囊泡聚集以及随后的晶体形成的顺序组合。异常胆汁和正常胆汁之间的主要区别仅在于这些事件在异常胆汁中开始和完成的一致快速性。
