FXR Deletion in Hepatocytes does not Affect the Severity of Alcoholic Liver Disease in Mice

Emerging evidence has shown that FXR activation ameliorates the development of alcoholic liver diseases (ALD) while whole-body deficiency of FXR in mice leads to more severe ALD. However, it ’s unknown whether the enhanced susceptibility to ALD development in FXR−/− mice is due to deficiency of hepatic FXR or increased toxicity secondary to increased bile acid (BA) levels. Hepatocyte-specific FXR knockout mice (FXRhep−/−) present similar BA levels compared to wild-type mice, a nd are therefore a useful model to study a direct role of hepatic FXR in ALD development.
Source: Digestive and Liver Disease - Category: Gastroenterology Authors: Tags: Liver, Pancreas and Biliary Tract Source Type: research