Abstract
IN man and in other mammals, bilirubin is excreted in conjugated form, mainly as the glucuronide. Since in mammalian fœtal liver the enzymatic mechanism for glucuronide formation is poorly developed, reaching its full capacity only after birth, transient hyperbilirubinæmia is frequently observed during the neonatal period1. In the amphibian genus, Rana, hepatic glucuronide formation is absent in the larva, but present in the adult2. The larval forms undergo extra-uterine development and hence are readily accessible. These Amphibia would represent an excellent experimental model for studying various aspects of neonatal hyperbilirubinæmia, if it could be established that they, like mammals, excrete bilirubin as glucuronide. Therefore, we have examined amphibian bile pigment excretion to determine, first, whether in the adult Rana bilirubin is excreted as a glucuronide; secondly, whether metamorphosis is associated with qualitative or quantitative changes in pigment excretion; and thirdly, whether the excreted pigment is biliverdin, as has been postulated previously3, bilirubin, or another pigment.
Similar content being viewed by others
Article PDF
References
Lathe, G. H., and Walker, M., Biochem. J., 67, 9P (1957). Brown, A. K., and Zuelzer, W. W., J. Glin. Invest., 37, 332 (1958).
Jondorf, W. R., Maikel, R. P., and Brodie, B. B., Fed. Proc., 18, 407 (1959). Maikel, R. P., Jondorf, W. R., and Brodie, B. B., ibid., 18, 418 (1959).
Lemberg, R., Biochem. J., 29, 1322 (1935). Nisimaru, Y., Amer. J. Physiol., 97, 654 (1931).
Heilmeyer, L., Spectrophotometry in Medicine (Adam Hilger Ltd. London, 1943).
Schmid, R., Science, 124, 76 (1956).
Levvy, G. A., and Storey, I. D., Biochem. J., 44, 295 (1949).
Malloy, H. T., and Evelyn, K. A., J. Biol. Chem., 119, 481 (1937). Fog, J., Scand. J. Clin. Lab. Invest., 10, 241 (1958).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
LESTER, R., SCHMID, R. Bile Pigment Excretion in Amphibia. Nature 190, 452 (1961). https://doi.org/10.1038/190452a0
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/190452a0
This article is cited by
-
The effect of shielding the hepatic area on the clinical response to phototherapy
European Journal of Pediatrics (1981)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.