Ursodeoxycholic acid suppresses the transcription of genes responsible for proliferation in the normal intestinal epithelial cells in vivo and in vitro

Introduction: Ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) prevents colitis-related colon cancer which potentially can be attributed to enhanced proliferation during tissue regeneration. We investigated therefore the effects of UDCA on growth of normal rodent intestinal epithelial cells and on the expression of proliferation-relevant genes. Materials and methods: Two groups of six C57BL/6J mice were fed with standard diet with and without 0.4% UDCA for 3 weeks. Sections of the colon were stained for Ki-67 using Tec-3 antibody and % of Ki-67 expressing cells was determined. In parallel, total RNA from the isolated colonic epithel…