The role of the retinoid receptor, RAR/RXR heterodimer, in liver physiology

Biochim Biophys Acta Mol Basis Dis. 2021 May 1;1867(5):166085. doi: 10.1016/j.bbadis.2021.166085.

Baixue Li ¹, Shi-Ying Cai ², James L Boyer ³

Affiliations

1 Liver Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520, United States; College of Basic Medical Sciences, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu 610075, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
2 Liver Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520, United States. Electronic address: [email protected].
3 Liver Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520, United States. Electronic address: [email protected].

PMID: 33497820 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbadis.2021.166085

Abstract

Activated by retinoids, metabolites of vitamin A, the retinoic acid receptors (RARs) and the retinoid X receptors (RXRs) play important roles in a wide variety of biological processes, including embryo development, homeostasis, cell proliferation, differentiation and death. In this review, we summarized the functional roles of nuclear receptor RAR/RXR heterodimers in liver physiology. Specifically, RAR/RXR modulate the synthesis and metabolism of lipids and bile acids in hepatocytes, regulate Cholesterol transport in macrophages, and repress fibrogenesis in hepatic stellate cells. We have also listed the specific genes that carry these functions and how RAR/RXR regulate their expression in liver cells, providing a mechanistic view of their roles in liver physiology. Meanwhile, we pointed out many questions regarding the detailed signaling of RAR/RXR in regulating the expression of liver genes, and hope future studies will address these issues.

Keywords

Bile acid hemostasis; Gene regulation; Lipid metabolism; Liver fibrogenesis; Liver physiology; Nuclear receptors; Retinoic acid receptors; Retinoid X receptors.

Name
Email *

	Sorry, but the email address you supplied was invalid.