Atefi N, Surendran A, Raabe M, et al. - A targeted bile acid analysis of human calcific aortic valve tissues unveiled a novel mechanistic pathway correlation for bile acids in the pathogenies of calcific aortic valve stenosis (CAVS). The bile acid pathway could represent a potential treatment target to avert or delay the progression of CAVS.

• This study utilizes human aortic tissue valves from 102 patients receiving aortic valve replacement surgery, and involves bile acid profiling (80 bile acids) of valvular tissues along with 19 plasma samples.

• Significant alterations of nordeoxycholic acid, norcholic acid and glycodeoxycholic acids (three bile acids) were evident between different degrees of CAVS severity based on the mean pressure gradient.

• Significant alterations in nordeoxycholic acid and norcholic acid and in 4 other bile acids (3β,7α-diOH-5-cholestenoic acid, 3β-OH-5-cholestenoic acid, glycolithocholic acid, and glycoallocholic acid) were evident across CAVS severity depending on the valvular calcification score.