In addition, bile acids were determined by gas chromatography in hepatovenous effluate pooled between minute 55 and 115. Quantification of bile acid levels by capillary gas chromatography was performed as described earlier.25, 26 For details, see Supporting

Information Data. Biliary bile acids were further characterized by LC-MS/MS in order to discriminate between conjugated and nonconjugated check details bile acids as described earlier.27 Biliary bile acid concentrations lower than 0.01 mmol/L were set as zero. Biliary secretion of the Mrp2 substrate, GS-DNP, was determined spectrofluorometrically as described earlier.13, 14 For details, see Supporting Information Data. For quantification of hepatocellular damage, activity of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) in the hepatovenous AG-014699 in vitro effluate was determined by an enzymatic assay as described.28 Active caspase-3 and cleaved cytokeratin 18 were determined by immunofluoresecence on cryosections of rat liver tissue as described previously.25,

29 Caspase-3–positive hepatocytes with concomitant cytokeratin intermediate filament breakdown were counted in 40 different high-power fields per sample for quantification of apoptotic cell death. Human HepG2 hepatoblastoma cells were stably transfected with a pcDNA3.1/Na+-taurocholate cotransporting polypeptide (Ntcp) construct (Ntcp-HepG2 cells).30 After cultivation, the cells were incubated in minimal essential medium (Eagle) with bile acids or DMSO (0.025%, vol/vol; control) for 4 hours. After fixation, Ntcp-HepG2 cells were incubated with an anti-cleaved caspase-3 antibody for quantification of apoptosis. Subsequently, cells learn more were incubated with a secondary anti-rabbit immunoglobulin G antibody. Nuclear DNA fragmentation was disclosed with Hoechst 33342. The studies were conducted on a Zeiss Axiovert 135TV microscope. Living and dead cells were counted by two examiners independently, and results were expressed as percentage of total cells. For details, see Supporting Information Data. Ntcp-transfected HepG2 cells were cultured and exposed to bile acids. Quantification of

apoptosis was performed by immunoblotting31 and fluorescence techniques. For details, see Supporting Information Data. Results were expressed as mean ± standard deviation (SD). Differences between the various groups were assessed for statistical significance by analysis of variance (ANOVA) with Tukey’s post-hoc test. Statistical significance was assumed when P values were <0.05. Bile flow in rat livers was 1.1 ± 0.1 μL/minute/g liver (n = 65) after 45 minutes of perfusion with KRB, reflecting an adequate secretory function of IPRL. Addition of CDNB (30 μmol/L), the precursor of the Mrp2 model substrate GS-DNP, between minute 65 and 75 led to a transient increase of bile flow due to its choleretic property as observed previously.