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Updated: Jul 9, 2025

Using Multi-fluorinated Bile Acids and In Vivo Magnetic Resonance Imaging to Measure Bile Acid Transport
Published on: November 27, 2016
Transporters for Bile Formation in Physiology and Pathophysiology
1Institute of Molecular Biology and Biophysics, ETH Zürich, 8093 Zürich. bruno.stieger@uzh.ch.
Abstract:
The liver fulfills many vital functions for the body, among them bile formation and detoxification. Bile salts are organic anions, are the major constituents of bile and are at high concentrations cytotoxic. Detoxification exposes the liver to many harmful compounds. This function is therefore potentially damaging to the liver. Impaired bile formation may lead to hepatic accumulation of bile salts and subsequently to liver disease. Diagnosis of liver diseases involves the measurement of so-called liver function parameters. This overview aims to characterize and summarize the role of organic anion transporters in bile formation at the protein level under normal physiologic conditions and in liver function tests used for diagnosing liver diseases in pathophysiologic situations.
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