Figure 2
Effect of bile acids on (a) Bsep density and—for comparison—(b) Mrp2 density (as reported previously7) in the pericanalicular zone (1?μm), the canalicular membranes (without microvilli), and the microvilli of zone 2 hepatocytes in the isolated perfused rat liver. Livers were treated for 50?min with DMSO alone (0.1%, v/v, control), TLCA (10?μmol/l), or TLCA (10?μmol/l)+TUDCA (25?μmol/l). Bsep and Mrp2 density in areas of interest was determined in a blinded fashion by immunoelectron microscopy in six canaliculi per liver as described recently.7 Results are expressed in arbitrary units and are given as mean±s.d. of 4–8 experiments. *P<0.05, two-tailed unpaired Student t test.
