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| Subject Categories: Signal Transduction | Cellular Metabolism |
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| The EMBO Journal
(2006) 25, 1419–1425, doi:10.1038/sj.emboj.7601049 Published online 16 March 2006 |
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| Endocrine functions of bile acids |
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| Sander M Houten1, 5, Mitsuhiro Watanabe2, 5 and Johan Auwerx2, 3, 4 |
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1 Laboratory Genetic Metabolic Diseases, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands 2 Institut de Génétique et Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire (IGBMC), CNRS/INSERM/ULP, Illkirch, France 3 Institut Clinique de la Souris, Illkirch, France 4 Laboratoire de Biochimie Générale et Spécialisée, Hôpitaux Universitaires de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France To whom correspondence should be addressed Johan Auwerx, Institut de Génétique et Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, 1 rue Laurent Fries, Parc d'Innovation, BP10142, 67404 Illkirch, France. Tel.: +33 388 653425; Fax: +33 388 653201; E-mail: auwerx@igbmc.u-strasbg.fr 5 These authors contributed equally to this work Received 9 November 2005; Accepted 24 February 2006; Published online 16 March 2006. |
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| Abstract |
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Bile acids (BAs), a group of structurally diverse molecules that are primarily synthesized in the liver from cholesterol, are the chief components of bile. Besides their well-established roles in dietary lipid absorption and cholesterol homeostasis, it has recently emerged that BAs are also signaling molecules, with systemic endocrine functions. BAs activate mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways, are ligands for the G-protein-coupled receptor TGR5, and activate nuclear hormone receptors such as farnesoid X receptor  . Through activation of these diverse signaling pathways, BAs can regulate their own enterohepatic circulation, but also triglyceride, cholesterol, energy, and glucose homeostasis. Thus, BA-controlled signaling pathways are promising novel drug targets to treat common metabolic diseases, such as obesity, type II diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and atherosclerosis. |
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| Keywords: bile acids, gene expression, metabolism, nuclear receptors, signaling |
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