Efficacy of urine b I iie acid as a iver damage non-invasive indicator of in rats

Estimation of liver damage is important in the pathophysiologica] and toxicological study of liver disease. As a novel, non-invasive markcr of liver darnage, we studicd the effcacy ofurine bile acids (UBA) in a rat model ofliver disease. Thioaeetamide (TAA)-treated rats were used in this study. Single intraperitoneal administration ofhigh-dose TAA induees severe damage to the liver, and thus is used as a model of acute hepatitis. Continuous administration oflow-dose TAA yields mild damage to the liver, and induces cirrhosis and hepatic tumors. In this study, it was found that both acute and chronic administration of TAA was associated with a dose-dependent elevation ofUBA, The elevation of UBA content correlated with the alteration of blood biochemical indicators, and UBA screening showed a remarkable ability to distinguish liver-dainaged rats fi'om healthy rats. In particular, UBA analysis was found to have high sensitivity, spccificity, and positive predictive value for the scrcening ofrats with abnormal serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity due to chronic liver damage, which was confirmcd to include cholestasis and subsequent cirrhosis by liver histological nalysis. In conclusion, we demonstrated that measurement QfUBA is a simple, non-invasive and e('Tective method fbr the screening of cholestasis in TAA-treated rats. We suggest that UBA analysis may have potent applicability fbr monitoring the progress of liver damage in animal models of chronic liver disease, such as cirrhosis and hepatic encephalopathy.