[Vesicles and the formation of cholesterol monohydrate crystals (CMC) in human bile]

Vesicles have recently been proved to be a nonmicellar mode of cholesterol dissolution and transportation in bile. It was reported that the aggregation of vesicles was a very important step for the formation of CMC. With 9-10 days' observation by transmission electron microscopy, vesicles were found in all the 3 gallbladder, 3 hepatic and 3 T-tube bile from 7 gallstone patients, 2 hours after centrifuged (2 h, 37 degrees C, 100,000g). The four-consecutive steps of CMC's formation were found to be: (1) novoformation of vesicles (25-50 nm), (2) "precrystals" (60-75 nm) appearing on the surface of the aggregates, (3) "precrystals" growing into submicroscopic CMC (600-750 nm long), (4) submicroscopic CMC and microscopic CMC (about 10,000 nm). "Precrystal" was believed as a new finding and it might be the very early step of the nucleation of CMC.