[Measurement of bile acid N-acetylglucosaminides in serum and urine of patients with chronic liver diseases during ursodeoxycholic acid treatment].

Bile acid N-acetylglucosaminide (GlcNAc) was investigated in serum and urine of patients with chronic liver diseases during ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) treatment by HPLC. Bile acid N-acetylglucosaminide was not detected other than primary biliary cirrhosis in serum and urine. All of these N-acetyglucosaminide was ursodeoxycholic acid N-acetylglucosaminide (GlcNAc-UDCA). GlcNAc-UDCA excretion was 17.3 +/- 5.7 mg/day in PBC stage I, 12.1 +/- 5.4 mg/day in stage II, 39.1 +/- 20.8 mg/day in stage III. Among the GlcNAc fraction GlcNAc-UDCA-gly occupied greatest part followed by GlcNAc-UDCA-tau and non-amidated Glc-NAc-UDCA. GlcNAc-UDCA was 50.1% of total urinary bile acids excretion in PBC stage I, 32.5% in stage II, 20.5% in stage III. However, GlcNAc-UDCA was less than 2.5% of total serum bile acids in every stage. These results indicate that N-acetylglucosamine conjugation is one of the major pathway of UDCA in patient with primary biliary cirrhosis.