Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2008 Feb;18(2):167-74.
doi: 10.1089/thy.2007.0255.

Bile acids and the membrane bile acid receptor TGR5--connecting nutrition and metabolism

Charles Thomas  1 , Johan Auwerx, Kristina Schoonjans
Affiliations
Review

Bile acids and the membrane bile acid receptor TGR5--connecting nutrition and metabolism

Charles Thomas et al. Thyroid. 2008 Feb.

Abstract

A multitude of endocrine, neural, and metabolic signaling pathways are activated upon food intake to coordinate the effective use of the available energy. Bile acids (BAs) are released from the gallbladder after each meal and subsequently facilitate the digestion of nutrients. Since concentrations of BAs increase postprandially in the serum, they are also signals of food availability that bridge nutrition with metabolism. Both nuclear and membrane receptors mediate BA signaling. Whereas the nuclear receptor farnesoid X receptor mainly affects enterohepatic lipid homeostasis, the G protein-coupled receptor TGR5 stimulates glucagon-like protein 1 production in enteroendocrine cells and activates thyroid hormone in brown adipose tissue and muscle, through the stimulation of type 2 iodothyronine deiodinase (D2). Through its insulinotropic effects, TGR5 may improve glucose homeostasis; through the activation of D2, it will stimulate energy expenditure and protect against the onset of obesity. These properties position TGR5 as an attractive and "drugable" target in our fight against the metabolic syndrome.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

Publication types

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources