TABLE 3.
Plasma concentrations of nine bile acids measured using targeted LC-MS/MS methods
Plasma samples from n = 47 women drawn in pregnancy (25–28 weeks) and postpartum (≥3 months) were used in the analysis. Log-transformed concentrations measured at 25–28 weeks of gestation and ≥3 months postpartum were compared using two-way paired t tests. Significance was measured against an adjusted alpha of P < 0.0056 to account for the nine separate comparisons. Absolute P values are reported. The sum of all nine bile acids was calculated for each participant and geometric mean and IQR were reported along with percentage of unconjugated bile acids (CA, CDCA, DCA), taurine conjugates (TCA, TCDCA, TDCA), and glycine conjugates (GCA, GCDCA, GDCA). For each bile acid, the pregnancy-to-postpartum ratio was calculated for each participant and the geometric mean ratio and IQR were reported.
| 25–28 Weeks Gestation | ≥3 Months Postpartum | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bile Acids | Geometric Mean | Pregnancy/Postpartum | P Valuea | |
| (nM) | (Interquartile Range: 25th, 75th) | Paired Ratio | Adjusted Alpha P < 0.0056 | |
| Cholic acid | 36.6 | 42.0 | 0.9 | 0.54 |
| (18.9, 84.5) | (22.9, 85.1) | (0.4, 0.8) | ||
| Chenodeoxycholic acid | 40.4 | 126.9 | 0.3 | <0.0001* |
| (17.4, 103.6) | (51.9, 317.7) | (0.1, 0.3) | ||
| Deoxycholic acid | 280.0 | 492.0 | 0.6 | 0.0043* |
| (184.4, 480.1) | (440.1, 825.9) | (0.3, 0.6) | ||
| Glycocholic acid | 386.7 | 423.1 | 0.9 | 0.61 |
| (193.5, 717.9) | (222.8, 792.0) | (0.4, 1.0) | ||
| Glycochenodeoxycholic acid | 501.1 | 1204.0 | 0.4 | <0.0001* |
| (325.6, 916.1) | (542.1, 2525.3) | (0.2, 0.5) | ||
| Glycodeoxycholic acid | 350.1 | 523.5 | 0.7 | 0.047 |
| (204.6, 761.7) | (336.2, 974.6) | (0.4, 0.7) | ||
| Taurocholic acid | 154.4 | 47.9 | 3.2 | <0.0001* |
| (70.3, 337.0) | (18.7, 106.5) | (1.2, 3.0) | ||
| Taurochenodeoxycholic acid | 213.3 | 122.7 | 1.7 | 0.0049* |
| (113.2, 514.8) | (71.0, 232.1) | (0.8, 1.6) | ||
| Taurodeoxycholic acid | 177.0 | 74.2 | 2.4 | <0.0001* |
| (87.6, 464.2) | (30.1, 171.8) | (1.2, 2.2) | ||
| Σ Bile acids | 2487.2 (1458.3, 4559.7) | 3684.9 (2038.3, 5690.4) | ||
| % Unconjugated bile acids | 15.9% (11.0%, 31.6%) | 22.5% (13.5%, 40.2%) | ||
| % Glycine-conjugated bile acids | 53.0% (46.9%, 61.3%) | 63.3% (53.3%, 74.7%) | ||
| % Taurine-conjugated bile acids | 23.3% (19.0%, 35.1%) | 7.2% (5.1%, 12.3%) | ||
aLog-transformed data compared using a two-way paired t test.
*Significant difference (determined using an adjusted alpha = 0.0056).