Studying the intracellular bile acid concentration and toxicity in drug-induced cholestasis: Comprehensive LC-MS/MS analysis with human liver slices

Drug-induced cholestasis (DIC) is a leading cause of drug-induced liver injury post-drug marketing, characterized by bile flow obstruction and toxic bile constituent accumulation within hepatocytes. This study investigates the toxicity associated with intracellular bile acid (BA) accumulation during DIC development. Using liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analysis, we examined intracellular BA concentrations in human precision-cut liver slices (PCLS) following the administration of cyclosporin A and chlorpromazine, both with and without an established BA mixture.

Our findings indicate toxicity of cyclosporin A upon BA addition, while chlorpromazine's toxicity remained unaffected. Although neither drug led to the accumulation of all BAs intracellularly, BA mixture addition resulted in the accumulation of unconjugated BAs associated with DIC, such as deoxycholic acid (DCA) and cholic acid (CA). Additionally, cyclosporin A increased taurolithocholic acid (TLCA) concentrations. In the absence of the BA mixture, a decrease in conjugated BAs was observed, suggesting inhibition of BA metabolism by cholestatic drugs and warranting further investigation. The evident increase in CA and DCA for both drugs (and TLCA for cyclosporin A), despite not exacerbating toxicity with chlorpromazine, suggests these increases may be related to DIC development and possible toxicity.

In conclusion, the current human PCLS model is appropriate for investigating and detecting essential contributors to DIC and can be used in future studies elucidating DIC ex vivo.