Interactions between Bile Acids and Nuclear Receptors and Their Effects on Lipid Metabolism and Liver Diseases
1Department of Medicine, Gastroenterology Division and Liver Center, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School and Harvard Digestive Diseases Center, Boston, MA, USA
2Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Saint Louis University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO, USA
3Department of Internal Medicine and Public Medicine, Clinica Medica “A. Murri”, University of Bari Medical School, Bari, Italy
4Department of Internal Medicine, Gastroenterology Division, McGuire Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA
Interactions between Bile Acids and Nuclear Receptors and Their Effects on Lipid Metabolism and Liver Diseases
Description
Bile acids are made in the liver by the cytochrome P450-mediated oxidation of cholesterol and are found predominantly in the bile of mammals. Nuclear receptors are found within the interior of cells and are responsible for sensing the presence of steroid and thyroid hormones and certain other molecules. Also, they regulate gene transcription through interaction with cellular coactivators and corepressors. However, the interactions between bile acids and nuclear receptors on lipid metabolism and liver diseases have remained elusive.
We are pleased to invite investigators to contribute review articles and original research articles that will stimulate the continuing efforts to understand the molecular functions of nuclear receptors, the significance of bile acid-controlled signaling pathways, and their interactions in metabolic and hepatic diseases. We are particularly interested in articles providing new insights into the role of nuclear receptors in hepatic lipid metabolism, advances in the effects of bile acids on lipid metabolism and liver diseases through the nuclear receptor pathways, and current concepts in the treatment of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and cholestasis. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:
- Recent progress in the effect of bile acids on glucose metabolism and insulin resistance
- Advances in the regulatory role of nuclear receptors in hepatic metabolism of lipids, bile acids, and lipoproteins
- The role of bile acids as signaling molecules in the metabolic syndrome
- The influence of nuclear receptors on bile flow and biliary lipid secretion
- The molecular mechanisms of actions of nuclear receptors on cholelithiasis
- New cellular and animal models to understand the molecular mechanisms of cholestasis
- Pathophysiology of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease
- Role of bile acids in inflammation
- Recent developments in liver fibrosis research
- Identification of new agonists and antagonists of nuclear receptors and their role in translational medicine
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