Background
Decreased gallbladder smooth muscle (GBSM) contractility is a hallmark of cholesterol gallstone disease, but the interrelationship between lithogenicity, biliary stasis and inflammation are poorly understood. We studied a mouse model of gallstone disease to evaluate the development of GBSM dysfunction relative to changes in bile composition and the onset of sterile cholecystitis.
Methods
BALB/cJ mice were fed a lithogenic diet for up to 8 weeks, and tension generated by gallbladder muscle strips was measured. Smooth muscle Ca2+ transients were imaged in intact gallbladder.
Key Results
Lipid composition of bile was altered lithogenically as early as one week, with increased hydrophobicity and cholesterol saturation indexes; however, inflammation was not detectable until the fourth week. Agonist-induced contractility was reduced from weeks 2 through 8. GBSM normally exhibits rhythmic synchronized Ca2+ flashes, and their frequency is increased by carbachol (3μM). After one week, lithogenic diet-fed mice exhibited disrupted Ca2+ flash activity, manifesting as clustered flashes, asynchronous flashes or prolonged quiescent periods. These changes could lead to a depletion of intracellular Ca2+ stores, which are required for agonist-induced contraction, and diminished basal tone of the organ. Responsiveness of Ca2+ transients to carbachol was reduced in mice on the lithogenic diet, particularly after 4-8 weeks, concomitant with appearance of mucosal inflammatory changes.
Conclusions & Inferences
These observations demonstrate that GBSM dysfunction is an early event in the progression of cholesterol gallstone disease and that it precedes mucosal inflammation.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.