secretion and exretion in the liver Flashcards
summarise the functions of the liver
- STORAGE of carbs, lipids, vitamins
- SYNTHESIS of glucose, ketone bodies, amino acids, cholesterol, fatty acids
- PHAGOCYTOSIS of particulates (Kupffer cells)
- DEGRADATION of endogenous compounds and xenobiotics (NH3, drugs and toxins)
^^ all above portal blood - MANUFACTURE of plasma proteins
- INACTIVATION (+ ACTIVATION) of hormones
- EXCRETION of lipophilic waste products
- SECRETION of emulsifiers
^^ later functions closely tied in with role of liver in bile production
where are Kupffer cells found?
lining the walls of the liver sinusoids
what vitamin is hydroxylated in the liver and kidney to produce the active form?
vitamin D
where does the liver get its blood from?
- 75% from portal vein — rich in absorbed nutrients, refuels bile acids/salts. has limited oxygen
- 25% from hepatic artery — regular systemic arterial blood, oxygenated
both feed into hepatic sinusoids (run between layers of hepatocytes)
what is the single venous drainage pathway from the liver?
central vein —> hepatic vein —> IVC
what do portal triads contain?
hepatic artery, portal vein, bile duct
what is the name given to an area of the liver served y a single portal triad?
acinar
sinusoids run between plates towards what?
central vein
what run into the bile duct?
bile canaliculi
describe zone 1 and what happens here
- periportal = most oxygen here = things that require most oxygen happen here
- amino acid catabolism
- gluconeogenesis
- cholesterol synthesis
describe zone III and what happens here
- pericentral - things happening here require less O2
- lipid synthesis
- ketogenesis
- glutamine synthesis
- drug metabolism
fibrosis first occurs aroudn what?
central vein - where there is less O2, cells here least able to regernate
what are hepatocytes?
polarised epithelial cells
what does a fenestrated epithelium mean?
has holes in the cells allowing quite large substances to pass from the intestitial fluid which fills then Space of Disse in the liver
what are the basolateral and apical membranes also called in hepatocytes?
basolateral = sinusoidal membrane
apical = canalicular membrane
what separates the canalicualr membrnae from the basolateral membrane?
zona occludens
where are junctional complexes?
at the ends of a bile canaliculus
what is secreted into the canalicualr space?
bile
how much bile is secreted by the liver each day and how much of it reaches the duodenum?
1000ml a day secreted by liver, 500 ml reaches the duodenum
decreased volume due to absorption of fluid from bile while it is stored in the GB
what does bile contain?
- bile acids/salts (+phsopholipids and choelsterol)
- conjugated bilirubin
- metabolites of hormones and drugs
- heavy metal ions (usually come in directly to liver in the portal blood, toxic to kidneys)
- electrolytes (HCO3- neutralise acid) and water (as a vehicle)
what are bile acids produced from?
cholesterol
primary vs secondary bile acid synthesis
- ‘primary’ bile acids synthesised in liver. they are weakly ionised (BAH = undissociated)
- secondary = bacterial modification in terminal ileum and colon
most bile acids exist in what form?
undissociated form with a proton attached (very little bile acid will exist in dissociated form at a neural pH)
how are bile acids converted to a bile salt? what is the effect on the dissociation constant?
bile acids are conjugated with amino acids Itaurine, glycine supkaye, glucuronate) in a condensation reaction — makes them more water soluble and charged
—> this greatly reduces the pKa dissociation constant — at neutral pH much more of the bile salt will exist in dissociated form therefore better at performing its function (get a greater amount of dissociated bile salts in bile by reducing the constant)
what 2 ways are unconjugated (BA-) and conjugated bile salts (BA-X) apically secreted?
- bile salt export pump (BSEP)
- multi drug resistant associated protein 2 (MRP2)
—> these are both ABC transproters with wide substrate specificities
what are ABC transproters?
ABC stands for ATP Bindign Casssette transporters
= huge family of pumps using ATP hydrolysis to import or export a wide range of substrates
examples
ABCA — ABCA1 = cholesterol transporter
ABCB — MDR1 (P-glycoprotein), BSEP
ABCC — CFTR, MRP2, sulphonylurea receptor (SUR1)
describe MRD1
- multi drug resistance-associated protein 1
- ABCB
- important in drug resistance in cancer cells — over expressed in cancer cells, can remove cytotoxic drug from cell
at any one time, ow much bile acids/salts are there in the body but how much is needed to digest a fat-rich meal?
3g in body but >15g needed to digest a fat-rich meal
enterohepatic circulation of bile acids: what are passively reabsorbed across the proximal intestinal wall and why?
some unconjugated bile acids are passively absorbed because they are lipid soluble and so can pass through the lipid cell membranes of intestinal cells
enterohepatic circulation of bile acids: where and how does active uptake of conjugated bile salts occur?
occurs in the terminal ileum via Na+ bile salt cotransporter ASBT and organic solute transporter (OST)
most bile produced is stored in between meals in the gall bladder in what form?
conjugated bile salt form
how does bile salt leave the enterocyte in terminal ileum?
via facilitated diffusion on an organic solute transporter (after entering enterocyte in terminal ileum via ASBT)