Bile Acid Biosynthesis Avoiding Cholesterol

Bile acids are the end products of cholesterol metabolism secreted into bile. They are essential for the absorption of lipids and lipid soluble compounds from the intestine. Here we have investigated the bile acid content of plasma and urine from patients with a defect in cholesterol biosynthesis, i.e. Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome (SLOS), resulting in elevated levels of 7-dehydrocholesterol (7-DHC), an immediate precursor of cholesterol. Using liquid chromatography - mass spectrometry (LC-MS) we have identified a novel pathway of bile acid biosynthesis in SLOS avoiding cholesterol starting with 7-DHC. This pathway also proceeds to a minor extent in healthy individuals. Monitoring of the pathway products could provide a rapid diagnostic for SLOS while elevated levels of pathway intermediates could be responsible for some of the features of the disease. Importantly, intermediates in the pathway are modulators of the activity of Smoothened, an oncoprotein that mediates Hedgehog signalling during embryogenesis and regeneration of postembryonic tissue.