Fig. 4

HCT-affected bile acid homeostasis through intervention in bile acid transportation. a The total bile acid (TBA) level in the liver and serum in the WT-NS, WT-TAA, and KO-TAA groups. b and c The concentrations of bile acid species in liver tissue (b) and serum (c) in the three groups were measured, with most changes presented as violin plots. d and e The effects of GCDCA on SOX9 and HNF4α protein levels in hepatocytes isolated from wild-type mice. f mRNA expression of bile acid transporters in murine livers of the three groups (qPCR). g and h Hepatic expression of BSEP in the three groups (IF) and its quantification. i and j mRNA levels of bile acid receptors in the liver tissue (i) and the ileum (j) of the three groups (qPCR). k–m Metabolomic analysis of liver tissues of the WT-TAA and KO-TAA groups. The heatmap of significantly altered metabolites (k), the bubble chart of enriched KEGG pathways (l), and the chord diagram showing the cross-linking of differential metabolites (m) are presented Images were cropped and scaled for illustration purposes from original Western blot images provided in supplementary files. Scale bars 50μm. *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001, ****p < 0.0001; ns, not significant (one-way ANOVA, n = 6/group)