Enterohepatic nuclear receptors

Houten SM, Auwerx J (2004) The enterohepatic nuclear receptors are major regulators of the enterohepatic circulation of bile salts. Ann Med 36 482-491... 

Gonzalez FJ (2012) Nuclear receptor control of enterohepatic circulation. Comp Physiol 2, 2811-28. 

Figure 8.8. Biosynthesis of bile acids and the enterohepatic circulation. Bile acids are synthesized from cholesterol in the liver under feedback regulation of the nuclear orphan receptors famesoid X receptor (FXR) and lignane X receptor (LXR). They are stored in the gallbladder and released through the bile duct into the duodenum, where they aid in the digestion of dietary fats. Intestinal uptake of bile acids takes place alongthe entire length of the small intestine, but active reabsorption is confined to the distal ileum to minimize loss of bile salts in the feces. The portal circulation carries bile acids from the intestine to the liver, where they are actively absorbed by hepatoc5Tesand secreted into bile.

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