Orphan Receptors Regulation of Cholesterol and Bile Acid Metabolism

The metabolism of cholesterol and bile acid is transcriptionaly regulated by classic feedforward and feedback signaling pathway.Recent research on orphan receptors,especially the liver X receptors(LXR),has provided new insights into the mechanism underlying the regulation of cholesterol and bile acid.These orphan receptors including LXR,farnesoid X receptor(FXR),liver receptor homologue-1(LRH-1) and small heterodimer partner(SHP) which serve as sensors for sterol metabolism connect oxysterol and bile acid with their metabolism homeostasis.We summarize the molecular biology of these orphan receptors,their roles in regulation cholesterol and bile acid homeostasis.