Figure 7.

Effects of bile acids on [NO₂⁻] production by cultured human endothelial cells. In this and the following figures, the cells were treated with bile acids for 24 h. The concentrations of [NO₂⁻] (μM) were measured, and divided by the weight of protein (μM mg⁻¹). (A) Effects of various kinds of bile acids on [NO₂⁻] production. Cholic acid (C), chenodeoxycholic acid (CDC), deoxycholic acid (DC), taurochenodeoxycholic acid (TCDC), taurodeoxycholic acid (TDC). ^*P<0.05 vs control experiments. (B) Effects of N^G-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) on the bile acids (deoxycholic acid and chenodeoxycholic acid)-induced nitric oxide production. The standard bathing solution (MCDB 107 medium) contained L-arginine (210.7 mg l⁻¹). ^*P<0.05 vs the experiments in the presence of chenodeoxycholic acid (CDC) or deoxycholic acid (DC). Each column represents the mean±s.d. of six preparations.