Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 16, 2026

Using Multi-fluorinated Bile Acids and In Vivo Magnetic Resonance Imaging to Measure Bile Acid Transport
Published on: November 27, 2016
Octreotide increases the proportions of arachidonic acid-rich phospholipids in gall-bladder bile
S P Pereira1, S H Hussaini, G M Murphy
1Gastroenterology Unit, Division of Medicine, Guy's Hospital Campus, GKT School of Medicine, King's College London, UK. steve.pereira@uclh.org
Background And Aims:
Octreotide treatment of acromegalic patients induces cholesterol gallstone formation, in part by impairing cholecystokinin release and gall-bladder contraction. However, there are few data on the effect of octreotide on biliary arachidonic acid-rich phospholipids or mucin glycoprotein, factors which also influence cholesterol gallstone formation.
Methods:
In acromegalic patients studied before and during 3 months of octreotide treatment, we measured mucin glycoprotein concentrations and the molecular species of phosphatidylcholine, and related the results to the cholesterol saturation and percentage of deoxycholic acid in gall-bladder bile.
Results:
The relative proportions of the major arachidonic acid-rich phosphatidylcholine species, PC 16:0-20:4 and PC 18:0-20:4, increased significantly during octreotide treatment. These changes were associated with a rise in the cholesterol saturation index and a non-significant twofold increase in mucin glycoprotein concentration. There were significant correlations between PC 16:0-20:4 and the cholesterol saturation index, percentage of vesicular cholesterol and percentage of deoxycholic acid in gall-bladder bile.
Conclusions:
In acromegalic patients, octreotide increases the proportions of arachidonic acid-rich phospholipids, with associated rises in: (a) the cholesterol saturation index and percentage of vesicular cholesterol, and (b) the percentage of deoxycholic acid in gall-bladder bile-changes similar to those found in patients with cholesterol-rich gall-bladder stones.
Related Concept Videos
Lipid Digestion
Overview of Fatty Acid Metabolism
Fatty acids are catabolized in a process called beta-oxidation, which takes place in the matrix of the mitochondria and converts their fatty acid chains into two-carbon units of acetyl groups. The acetyl...
Bile
Bile is released when dietary fats enter...
Gallbladder
The gallbladder's anatomy consists of three regions: the fundus, body, and neck. Extending from the neck, the cystic duct joins the common...
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...
Cholecystitis

