Bile Acid Metabolomics

Overview

Bile acid metabolomics refers to targeted or untargeted mass spectrometry–based quantification of bile acid (BA) species in serum, bile, or tissue samples. Platforms include HPLC/MS and UPLC-MS/MS, which can simultaneously quantify 15–30 primary and secondary BA species (e.g., glycocholic acid GCA, taurochenodeoxycholic acid TCDCA, hyodeoxycholic acid, isoLCA, deoxycholic acid DCA). In cholangiocarcinoma research, BA metabolomics has been applied to discover diagnostic biomarker panels and to characterize BA metabolic reprogramming in tumor tissue.

Used by

• Synthesized in a narrative review of gut-liver axis dysregulation in cholangiocarcinoma: multiple BA metabolomics studies (HPLC/MS, UPLC-MS/MS; Prounjai S, Zhang X, Rejchrt S, Wang W, Farhat Z, cited) documented accumulation of conjugated primary BAs (GCA, TCDCA) and depletion of secondary conjugates (GLCA, GUDCA) in CCA; a CDCA+TCDCA panel reportedly outperformed CA19-9 (AUC=0.95) for CCA vs BBD/HCC; a four-BA panel (hyodeoxycholic acid, isoLCA, bCDCA, DCA) achieved sensitivity 0.933 and specificity 0.867 PMID:25608663

Notes

• Primary BAs (cholic acid, chenodeoxycholic acid) are synthesized in the liver; secondary BAs (DCA, LCA) are generated by gut microbial metabolism.
• Conjugated BAs (glycine/taurine conjugates) are the predominant serum form; their accumulation in CCA reflects impaired biliary excretion and altered gut-liver crosstalk.
• BA receptor signaling (FXR/NR1H4, TGR5/GPBAR1, S1PR2) links BA metabolomics findings to oncogenic pathway activation.
• Prospective multicenter validation of BA biomarker panels is needed before clinical implementation.

Sources

• PMID:25608663 — Gut-liver axis review in cholangiocarcinoma (narrative review synthesizing BA metabolomics data)

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