Bile acid content of gallbladder bile and stones in type IIb and IV hyperlipoproteinemia.

We examined the bile acid composition of gallbladder bile using reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), in normolipemic and hyperlipidemic (types IIb and IV) patients with cholelithiasis and compared them with normal subjects. Similarly, bile acid composition was determined n the gallstones of these patients. No free bile acids were found in any of the samples examined. We observed that gallbladder bile and gallstones of patients with type IV hyperlipidemia showed a significant increase in the percentage of glyco-conjugated bile acids and reduction in taurine conjugates. Based on this finding we postulate that in addition to biliary lipid composition bile acid composition may also play a role in the pathogenesis of cholesterol gallstone formation.