THE ESSENTIAL
- Bile is produced by the liver and responsible for the absorption of fats.
- Researchers have found that intestinal infection dynamically changes the composition of bile.
- These changes help protect the intestines and fight infection.
Bile is a greenish-yellow liquid produced by the liver, known to participate in the digestion of fats. However, researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital have discovered another function. They showed that bile also helps fight intestinal infections such as gastroenteritis or listeriosis.
Their work was presented in the journal Nature Microbiology November 20, 2024.
Intestinal infection: bile modified to fight bacteria
Wanting to learn more about the composition of bile, the researchers brought together mice infected with one of the two pathogens causing intestinal infections: Listeria monocytogenes and Citrobacter rodentium. The team analyzed the bile of sick rodents and discovered changes in the metabolites (organic compounds) of the substance.
“In addition, hundreds of new metabolites present in the biliary metabolome (all metabolites found in a bile sample, Editor’s note) have been described”add the authors in their press release. More specifically, they noticed that the infection modifies the composition of bile and leads to a strengthening of intestinal defenses.
“The changes we detected in the composition of bile in the event of infection are beneficial for the intestine, because they allow it to eliminate the infection”assures lead author Dr Matthew Waldor. Although the study was conducted on mice, the researcher and his colleagues believe their findings also apply to humans.
“Our results reveal the complex and dynamic nature of bile composition, shedding new light on the essential role of the liver in defending the gut against infection. This information improves our understanding of the broader functions of the liver in the regulation of physiological stability and metabolic processes”adds the expert.
Bile: other discoveries could be made
And for the scientists who worked on this experiment, their work opens the door to other discoveries. They note, in fact, that the 812 bile metabolites that they identified, “probably represent only a subset of all bile metabolites.”
The researchers suggest, in fact, that other organic compounds could be brought to light as innovations and analysis techniques improve.
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