Lysophosphatidylcholine acyltransferase activity during experimental cholelithiasis.

The accumulation of (1-palmitoyl)lysophosphatidylcholine, lysolecithin, in gallbladder bile was observed during the first week of cholesterol-induced experimental cholelithiasis using the prairie dog model for cholesterol gallstone formation. Gallbladder fluid transport function decreased as bile lysolecithin concentration increased. These observations suggest that lysolecithin plays an important, early role in the etiology of gallstone disease. Furthermore, the relative activities of hepatic and gallbladder mucosa lysophosphatidylcholine acyltransferase and acylcoenzyme a hydrolases may be responsible for the turnover of gallbladder bile lysolecithin.