Total data_BA

Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) is involved in different liver diseases, but little is known about the significance of COX-2 or its metabolites in cholestatic injury. This study was designed to elucidate the role of COX-2 expression during the pathogenesis of cholestasis. Thus, we investigated the mechanisms underlying the role of COX-2 and its derived prostaglandins in modulating cell survival, inflammation, oxidative stress status and the synthesis and excretion of bile acids (BA) in response to cholestatic liver injury. We used genetically modified mice constitutively expressing human COX-2 (hCOX-2-Tg) specifically in hepatocytes. Transgenic mice (hCOX-2-Tg) and their wild-type (Wt) littermates were either subjected to a common bile duct ligation (BDL) to establish an experimental model of obstructive cholestasis. We performed an exhaustive analysis of the different types of bile acids (total, primary, secondary, conjugated, non-conjugated and hydrophilic, α-, β- and ω-muricholic acid) in plasma and in liver tissue from Wt and h-COX-2 Tg mice. Samples were analyzed at Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria La Fe (Valencia, Spain) detecting a total of 31 analytes.