Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 19, 2026

Using Multi-fluorinated Bile Acids and In Vivo Magnetic Resonance Imaging to Measure Bile Acid Transport
Published on: November 27, 2016
The mechanism of biliary lipid secretion and its defects
1Department of Gastrointestinal and Liver Diseases, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Abstract:
Biliary lipid secretion is an important physiological event; not only for the disposal of cholesterol from the body, but also for the protection of cells lining the biliary tree against bile salts. Insight into the (patho)physiological role of biliary lipid secretion has been recently expanded through the study of a generation of mice with a disruption of the Mdr2 gene, who do not secrete lipids into bile. Mdr2 P-glycoprotein translocates phospholipids across the hepatocanalicular membrane. These animals suffer from progressive liver disease caused by the toxic detergent action of bile salts. Very recently, it has become clear that an analogous inherited human liver disease exists, which is caused by the absence of biliary lipid secretion. Patients with this disease, Progressive Familial Intrahepatic Cholestasis (PFIC) type 3, have a mutation in the MDR3 gene, which is the human homologue of the murine Mdr2 gene.
Related Concept Videos
Lipid Digestion
Bile
Bile is released when dietary fats enter...
Overview of Lipid Metabolism
Lipolysis: The Breakdown of Lipids:
Lipolysis is the process of breaking down lipids, particularly triglycerides, into glycerol and fatty acids. This process typically occurs in the adipose tissue and is triggered by various hormones, including glucagon and...
Lipid Absorption
These breakdown products bind with bile salts and lecithin to form micelles, which quickly pass between microvilli to come in close contact with the apical...
Hepatic Drug Excretion: Influencing Factors
Chronic Pancreatitis II: Pathophysiology

