scholarly journals Recent advances in understanding bile acid homeostasis

F1000Research ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 2029 ◽  
Author(s):  
John YL Chiang

Bile acids are derived from cholesterol to facilitate intestinal nutrient absorption and biliary secretion of cholesterol. Recent studies have identified bile acids as signaling molecules that activate nuclear farnesoid X receptor (FXR) and membrane G protein-coupled bile acid receptor-1 (Gpbar-1, also known as TGR5) to maintain metabolic homeostasis and protect liver and other tissues and cells from bile acid toxicity. Bile acid homeostasis is regulated by a complex mechanism of feedback and feedforward regulation that is not completely understood. This review will cover recent advances in bile acid signaling and emerging concepts about the classic and alternative bile acid synthesis pathway, bile acid composition and bile acid pool size, and intestinal bile acid signaling and gut microbiome in regulation of bile acid homeostasis.

2020 ◽  
Vol 61 (11) ◽  
pp. 1450-1463 ◽  
Author(s):  
Solenne Marion ◽  
Lyne Desharnais ◽  
Nicolas Studer ◽  
Yuan Dong ◽  
Matheus D. Notter ◽  
...  

Bile acids, which are synthesized from cholesterol by the liver, are chemically transformed along the intestinal tract by the gut microbiota, and the products of these transformations signal through host receptors, affecting overall host health. These transformations include bile acid deconjugation, oxidation, and 7α-dehydroxylation. An understanding of the biogeography of bile acid transformations in the gut is critical because deconjugation is a prerequisite for 7α-dehydroxylation and because most gut microorganisms harbor bile acid transformation capacity. Here, we used a coupled metabolomic and metaproteomic approach to probe in vivo activity of the gut microbial community in a gnotobiotic mouse model. Results revealed the involvement of Clostridium scindens in 7α-dehydroxylation, of the genera Muribaculum and Bacteroides in deconjugation, and of six additional organisms in oxidation (the genera Clostridium, Muribaculum, Bacteroides, Bifidobacterium, Acutalibacter, and Akkermansia). Furthermore, the bile acid profile in mice with a more complex microbiota, a dysbiosed microbiota, or no microbiota was considered. For instance, conventional mice harbor a large diversity of bile acids, but treatment with an antibiotic such as clindamycin results in the complete inhibition of 7α-dehydroxylation, underscoring the strong inhibition of organisms that are capable of carrying out this process by this compound. Finally, a comparison of the hepatic bile acid pool size as a function of microbiota revealed that a reduced microbiota affects host signaling but not necessarily bile acid synthesis. In this study, bile acid transformations were mapped to the associated active microorganisms, offering a systematic characterization of the relationship between microbiota and bile acid composition.


2020 ◽  
Vol 318 (3) ◽  
pp. G554-G573 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Y. L. Chiang ◽  
Jessica M. Ferrell

Bile acid synthesis is the most significant pathway for catabolism of cholesterol and for maintenance of whole body cholesterol homeostasis. Bile acids are physiological detergents that absorb, distribute, metabolize, and excrete nutrients, drugs, and xenobiotics. Bile acids also are signal molecules and metabolic integrators that activate nuclear farnesoid X receptor (FXR) and membrane Takeda G protein-coupled receptor 5 (TGR5; i.e., G protein-coupled bile acid receptor 1) to regulate glucose, lipid, and energy metabolism. The gut-to-liver axis plays a critical role in the transformation of primary bile acids to secondary bile acids, in the regulation of bile acid synthesis to maintain composition within the bile acid pool, and in the regulation of metabolic homeostasis to prevent hyperglycemia, dyslipidemia, obesity, and diabetes. High-fat and high-calorie diets, dysbiosis, alcohol, drugs, and disruption of sleep and circadian rhythms cause metabolic diseases, including alcoholic and nonalcoholic fatty liver diseases, obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Bile acid-based drugs that target bile acid receptors are being developed for the treatment of metabolic diseases of the liver.


1979 ◽  
Vol 178 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
R C Strange ◽  
G J Beckett ◽  
I W Percy-Robb

1. Normally fed and cholestyramine-treated rats were injected through the superior mesenteric vein with different amounts of radiolabelled glycoholic acid and the appearance of radioactivity in bile was measured. 2. In normally fed rats radioactivity appeared in bile within 30 s of injection and reached a maximum after 2 1/2 min; in the cholestyramine-treated animals the appearance of radioactivity was slower and less of the injected material was excreted into bile. 3. At 10 min after injection, livers were removed and the amounts of radioactive glycoholic acid and endogenous cholic acid conjugates in nuclei and cytosol were determined; most of the bile acid was found in the cytosol, only small amounts being found in nuclei. 4. Nuclear preparations from both normally fed and cholestyramine-fed rats were extracted with KCl (0.4 M) in an attempt to identify a putative bile acid receptor, but no such receptor was found. 5. Regulation of bile acid synthesis does not involve nuclear binding of bile acids.


Author(s):  
Frans Stellaard ◽  
Dieter Lütjohann

Regulation of bile acid metabolism is normally discussed as the regulation of bile acid synthesis, which serves to compensate for intestinal loss in order to maintain a constant pool size. After a meal, bile acids start cycling in the enterohepatic circulation. Farnesoid X receptor-dependent ileal and hepatic processes lead to negative feedback inhibition of bile acid synthesis. When the intestinal bile acid flux decreases, the inhibition of synthesis is released. The degree of inhibition of synthesis and the mechanism and degree of activation are still unknown. Moreover, in humans, a biphasic diurnal expression pattern of bile acid synthesis has been documented, indicating maximal synthesis around 3 pm and 9 pm. Quantitative data on the hourly synthesis schedule as compensation for intestinal loss are lacking. In this review, we describe the classical view on bile acid metabolism and present alternative concepts that are based on the overlooked feature that bile acids transit through the enterohepatic circulation very rapidly. A daily profile of the cycling and total bile acid pool sizes and potential controlled and uncontrolled mechanisms for synthesis are predicted. It remains to be elucidated by which mechanism clock genes interact with the Farnesoid X receptor-controlled regulation of bile acid synthesis. This mechanism could become an attractive target to enhance bile acid synthesis at night, when cholesterol synthesis is high, thus lowering serum LDL-cholesterol.


2019 ◽  
Vol 317 (1) ◽  
pp. F73-F76
Author(s):  
Suchun Li ◽  
Chunling Li ◽  
Weidong Wang

Emerging evidence has shown that bile acids play important roles in renal physiology and diseases by activating two major receptors, the nuclear farnesoid X receptor (FXR) and the membrane G protein-coupled bile acid receptor-1 (Gpbar1; also known as TGR5). Both FXR and TGR5 have been identified in human and rodent kidneys, where they are deeply involved in renal water handling. In mice, FXR- or TGR5-related gene deficiency has been associated with reduced aquaporin-2 expression accompanied with impaired urinary concentration ability. In this mini-review, we briefly discuss the current understanding of FXR/TGR5 signaling in the kidneys, with a special focus on the regulation of aquaporin-2 expression by bile acids in the collecting ducts and its potential significance in disease conditions.


2021 ◽  
Vol 184 (3) ◽  
pp. R69-R83
Author(s):  
Hei Man Fan ◽  
Alice L Mitchell ◽  
Catherine Williamson

Bile acids are lipid-solubilising molecules that also regulate metabolic processes. Farnesoid X receptor (FXR) and Takeda G-protein coupled receptor 5 (TGR5) are two bile acid receptors with key metabolic roles. FXR regulates bile acid synthesis in the liver and influences bile acid uptake in the intestine. TGR5 is mainly involved in regulation of signalling pathways in response to bile acid uptake in the gut and therefore prandial response. Both FXR and TGR5 have potential as therapeutic targets for disorders of glucose and/or lipid homeostasis. Gestation is also known to cause small increases in bile acid concentrations, but physiological hypercholanaemia of pregnancy is usually not sufficient to cause any clinically relevant effects. This review focuses on how gestation alters bile acid homeostasis, which can become pathological if the elevation of maternal serum bile acids is more marked than physiological hypercholanaemia, and on the influence of FXR and TGR5 function in pregnancy on glucose and lipid metabolism. This will be discussed with reference to two gestational disorders: intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP), a disease where bile acids are pathologically elevated, and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), characterised by hyperglycaemia during pregnancy.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. A767-A767
Author(s):  
Alexandra M Huffman ◽  
Samar Rezq ◽  
Jelina Basnet ◽  
Licy L Yanes Cardozo ◽  
Damian G Romero

Abstract Introduction and Purpose: Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) is recognized as the most common endocrine disorder in women of reproductive age. Notably, PCOS women with hyperandrogenism have a pronounced increased risk for cardio-metabolic comorbidities compared with healthy individuals. Bile acids are endocrine signaling molecules that modulate hepatic lipid, glucose, and energy metabolism by aiding in absorption of lipids. Alteration of bile acid homeostasis affects overall metabolic homeostasis and contributes to pathogenesis of an array of metabolic diseases, although the molecular mechanisms of this have not been studied in PCOS. Methods: Four-week old C57BL/6N female mice were implanted subcutaneously with dihydrotestosterone (DHT, 8.0 mg) or vehicle silastic tubes (n=8/grp). Weekly body weight, food intake, and body composition was assessed. Fasting serum was obtained and the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) was performed in the last week of treatment. Animals were euthanized on treatment day 90 and livers were harvested. Expression levels of mRNA were assessed using RT-qPCR. Results: DHT treated females had significantly higher liver mass (1,387 ± 51 vs 1,197 ± 29 g, p<0.05), increased lean mass (21.25 ± 0.27 vs 19.58 ± 0.23 g, p<0.05) and increased fat mass (4.83 ± 0.47 vs 3.59 ± 0.36 g, p<0.05) compared to the vehicle counterparts. These hyperandrogenemic females additionally showed altered glucose homeostasis, having increased fasting glucose (201.10 ± 11.11 vs 152.80 ± 9.23 mg/dL, p<0.05) and an increased area under the curve (209.2± 11.0 vs 160.8± 3.5 mg.min/dL, p<0.05) following OGTT. Hepatic expression of both classic (Cyp8b1, 1.4 ± 0.1-fold, p<0.05) and alternative (Cyp7b1, 2.0 ± 0.3-fold, p<0.05) bile acid synthesis cytochrome P450 enzyme genes were significantly upregulated in DHT treated animals. Additionally, expression of sulfotransferase Sult2a2 was completely abolished in DHT treated animals compared with vehicle animals, indicating the possibility of androgen regulation of the sulfonation of bile acids marked for elimination. Liver expression of both the bile acid receptor G-protein coupled bile acid receptor 1 and the androgen receptor were both significantly downregulated (Gpbar1: 0.68 ± 0.08-fold, AR: 0.46 ± 0.04-fold, p<0.05) in DHT treated animals. Conclusions: Bile acid synthesis, transport, and elimination are tightly controlled processes in the liver to maintain a constant bile acid pool and limit reabsorption. Together, our results highlight the potential role of androgens in DHT-treated female mice in the dysregulation of bile acid homeostasis and its potential contribution to influence metabolic dysfunction. (Supported by NIH grants NIGMS P20GM-121334 to LLYC and DGR, and NIH NIDDK R21DK-113500 to DGR and the Mississippi Center of Excellence in Perinatal Research.)


2015 ◽  
Vol 309 (4) ◽  
pp. G209-G215 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Camilleri ◽  
Gregory J. Gores

The first objectives of this article are to review the structure, chemistry, and physiology of bile acids and the types of bile acid malabsorption observed in clinical practice. The second major theme addresses the classical or known properties of bile acids, such as the role of bile acid sequestration in the treatment of hyperlipidemia; the use of ursodeoxycholic acid in therapeutics, from traditional oriental medicine to being, until recently, the drug of choice in cholestatic liver diseases; and the potential for normalizing diverse bowel dysfunctions in irritable bowel syndrome, either by sequestering intraluminal bile acids for diarrhea or by delivering more bile acids to the colon to relieve constipation. The final objective addresses novel concepts and therapeutic opportunities such as the interaction of bile acids and the microbiome to control colonic infections, as in Clostridium difficile-associated colitis, and bile acid targeting of the farnesoid X receptor and G protein-coupled bile acid receptor 1 with consequent effects on energy expenditure, fat metabolism, and glycemic control.


2015 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 327-331 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven A. Kliewer ◽  
David J. Mangelsdorf

While it has long been recognized that bile acids are essential for solubilizing lipophilic nutrients in the small intestine, the discovery in 1999 that bile acids serve as ligands for the nuclear receptor farnesoid X receptor (FXR) opened the floodgates in terms of characterizing their actions as selective signaling molecules. Bile acids act on FXR in ileal enterocytes to induce the expression of fibroblast growth factor (FGF)15/19, an atypical FGF that functions as a hormone. FGF15/19 subsequently acts on a cell surface receptor complex in hepatocytes to repress bile acid synthesis and gluconeogenesis, and to stimulate glycogen and protein synthesis. FGF15/19 also stimulates gallbladder filling. Thus, the bile acid-FXR-FGF15/19 signaling pathway regulates diverse aspects of the postprandial enterohepatic response. Pharmacologically, this endocrine pathway provides exciting new opportunities for treating metabolic disease and bile acid-related disorders such as primary biliary cirrhosis and bile acid diarrhea. Both FXR agonists and FGF19 analogs are currently in clinical trials.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 335-353
Author(s):  
Evette B. M. Hillman ◽  
Sjoerd Rijpkema ◽  
Danielle Carson ◽  
Ramesh P. Arasaradnam ◽  
Elizabeth M. H. Wellington ◽  
...  

Bile acid diarrhoea (BAD) is a widespread gastrointestinal disease that is often misdiagnosed as irritable bowel syndrome and is estimated to affect 1% of the United Kingdom (UK) population alone. BAD is associated with excessive bile acid synthesis secondary to a gastrointestinal or idiopathic disorder (also known as primary BAD). Current licensed treatment in the UK has undesirable effects and has been the same since BAD was first discovered in the 1960s. Bacteria are essential in transforming primary bile acids into secondary bile acids. The profile of an individual’s bile acid pool is central in bile acid homeostasis as bile acids regulate their own synthesis. Therefore, microbiome dysbiosis incurred through changes in diet, stress levels and the introduction of antibiotics may contribute to or be the cause of primary BAD. This literature review focuses on primary BAD, providing an overview of bile acid metabolism, the role of the human gut microbiome in BAD and the potential options for therapeutic intervention in primary BAD through manipulation of the microbiome.


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