Ursodeoxycholic Acid (UDCA)

Ursodeoxycholic acid is a hydrophilic secondary bile acid used therapeutically for primary biliary cholangitis (PBC), gallstone dissolution, and cholestatic liver disease. It is also a microbial metabolite — gut bacteria (7α/β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases) convert chenodeoxycholic acid to UDCA. Emerging evidence supports drug repurposing for CRC chemoprevention and ASD.

Drug Repurposing

  • CRC: UDCA reduces colonic epithelial cell proliferation and apoptosis resistance; counteracts the pro-carcinogenic effects of deoxycholic acid (DCA) [1].
  • ASD: UDCA + propionic acid modulation improves behavioral outcomes in autism animal models [2].
  • Colitis-associated CRC: Modulates Treg function in colitis-cancer models [3].

Cross-References

References (3)

  1. Rezen T, Rozman D, Kovacs T et al. (2022). Rezen et al. 2022 — The Role of Bile Acids in Carcinogenesis. Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences. doi:10.1007/s00018-022-04278-2
  2. Levent Karakas, Volkan Solmaz, Erman Bascioglu et al. (2023). Karakas 2023 — Lowering Propionic Acid Levels by Regulating Gut Microbiota with Ursodeoxycholic Acid Appears to Regress Autism Symptoms: An Animal Study. Journal of Health Sciences and Medicine. doi:10.32322/jhsm.1286838
  3. Zitao Wang, Wenjie Hua, Chen Li et al. (2019). Protective Role of Fecal Microbiota Transplantation on Colitis and Colitis-Associated Colon Cancer in Mice Is Associated With Treg Cells. Frontiers in Microbiology

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