Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a growing health problem worldwide, but the currently available strategies for therapy and prevention are insufficient. Recent observations indicate that bile acid homeostasis is altered in T2D. Bile acids are metabolic regulators that act as signaling molecules through receptor-dependent and -independent pathways. The most prominent signaling molecules mediating bile a...

Bile acids, amphipathic end products of cholesterol metabolism, are "good" in the infant because they enhance lipid absorption and thereby promote growth. Bile acids also induce bile flow and biliary lipid secretion. The enterohepatic circulation of bile acids is "bad" in the adult because it downregulates hepatocyte low-density lipoprotein receptor activity and thereby elevates plasma choleste...

Obesity-associated metabolic complications are generally considered to emerge from abnormalities in carbohydrate and lipid metabolism, whereas the status of protein metabolism is not well studied. Here, we performed comparative polysome and associated transcriptional profiling analyses to study the dynamics and functional implications of endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-associated protein synthesis i...

Bile acids are synthesized from cholesterol in the liver and further metabolized by the gut microbiota into secondary bile acids. Bile acid synthesis is under negative feedback control through activation of the nuclear receptor farnesoid X receptor (FXR) in the ileum and liver. Here we profiled the bile acid composition throughout the enterohepatic system in germ-free (GF) and conventionally ra...

Biliary lipids, faecal steroids, and serum bile acids were studied in patients with chronic active hepatitis and primary biliary cirrhosis. The results were correlated with excretory and parenchymal liver function tests and with the presence or absence of orcein-positive copper-protein complexes in histological liver specimens. In general, faecal bile acids, but not neutral and total sterols, c...

Fibroblast growth factor 19 (FGF19) is an ileum-derived postprandial enterokine that governs bile acid and nutrient metabolism. Synthesis of FGF19 is up-regulated by bile acids and, conversely, bile acid synthesis is down-regulated by FGF19. FGF19 also controls gallbladder volume. FGF19 has been shown to have profound effects on glucose and lipid metabolism. Recent studies have described FGF19 ...