A non-micellar mode of cholesterol transport in human bile

Quasi-elastic light scattering (QELS) was used to measure particle size in fresh human hepatic bile of 14 subjects. Particles with an approximate diameter of 700 A were found in all biles. The particles were almost unchanged after the bile salt concentration was reduced to 0.06 mM by dilution or dialysis against 150 mM NaCl. During dialysis bile salts were removed, while cholesterol and phospholipids remained in solution apparently in the large particles-vesicles. These experiments suggest the presence of a novel, bile salt-independent, mode of cholesterol transport in saturated human bile.