Fig. 2.

Urso suppressed BA synthesis but had no effect on cholesterol levels in liver or serum. A: Total cholesterol concentrations in serum. n = 6 for each group. B: Hepatic total cholesterol per gram of wet tissue weight. n = 6 for each group. The mRNA expression for de novo cholesterol synthetic genes hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA reductase (HMGCR) and hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA synthase (HMGCS) (C) and BA synthetic genes CYP7A1 and CYP8B1 (D) was determined by RT-PCR. n = 4–5 for each group. Data are mean ± SEM. Differences between TUDCA and control were determined by two-tailed t-test. Differences between control and three doses of Urso were determined by one-way ANOVA followed by Dunnett’s tests. * P < 0.05, ** P < 0.01, *** P < 0.001.