Highlight report: New insights in liver physiology: Canalicular bile flux is diffusion dominated
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17179/excli2020-2836Keywords:
liver, liver physiology, canalicular bile fluxAbstract
One of the central functions of the liver is excretion of bile into the intestine. Currently, bile excretion is explained by the osmotic model, according to which bile acids are excreted by hepatocytes into the bile canaliculi and since bile acids are osmotically active they draw water into the canalicular lumen. Bile canaliculi are closed at the central side. Therefore, bile was postulated to flow to the open side into the ducts. However, bile flow in canaliculi has never been measured because of the small canalicular diameter which does not allow analysis of flux by conventional methods. Recently, methods have been developed that allow flow analysis in bile canaliculi and ducts. Interestingly, no measurable directed flow was observed in the canaliculi. Instead, small molecules in bile canaliculi reached the larger bile ducts by diffusion. Only there measurable flow sets in. The pathophysiological implications of this novel observation are discussed.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2020 Ahmed Ezzat Ahme
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish in this journal agree to the following terms:
- The authors keep the copyright and grant the journal the right of first publication under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution license, CC BY 4.0. This licencse permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided that the original work is properly cited.
- The use of general descriptive names, trade names, trademarks, and so forth in this publication, even if not specifically identified, does not imply that these names are not protected by the relevant laws and regulations.
- Because the advice and information in this journal are believed to be true and accurate at the time of publication, neither the authors, the editors, nor the publisher accept any legal responsibility for any errors or omissions presented in the publication. The publisher makes no guarantee, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein.
- The authors can enter into additional contracts for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version by citing the initial publication in this journal (e.g. publishing in an institutional repository or in a book).
