Biliatresone treatment of pregnant mice causes changes in bile metabolism and liver inflammation in their offspring

Background & AimsBiliary atresia is a neonatal disease characterized by bile duct and liver damage, fibrosis, inflammation and abnormal bile metabolism. It appears to result from a prenatal exposure that spares the mother and affects the fetus. Our aim was to define the phenotype in neonatal mice after maternal exposure to low-dose biliatresone, a plant toxin implicated in biliary atresia in livestock. MethodsPregnant mice were treated orally with low-doses of biliatresone. Histological changes, bile acid profiles and immune profiles were analyzed in postnatal day 5 and 21 pups born to treated mothers. ResultsThe pups of mothers treated with this dose of biliatresone had no evidence of significant liver or ductular injury or fibrosis at postnatal day 5 or 21 and they grew normally. However, serum levels of glycocholic acid were elevated at postnatal day 5, suggesting altered bile metabolism, and bile metabolism became increasingly abnormal through postnatal day 21, with enhanced glycine conjugation of bile acids. There was also immune cell activation observed in the liver at postnatal day 21. ConclusionPrenatal exposure to low doses of an environmental toxin can cause liver inflammation and aberrant bile metabolism even in the absence of histological changes. Lay summaryPrenatal exposure to low doses of an environmental toxin can cause changes in bile metabolism in neonatal mice.