Improving glucose and lipids metabolism: drug development based on bile acid related targets

Authors:

Hanchen Shen1, Lili Ding2,3, Mehdi Baig3, Jingyan Tian4, Yang Wang1 and Wendong Huang3

Affiliations:

1 School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, Shanghai 201203, China.

2 Shanghai Key Laboratory of Complex Prescriptions and MOE Key Laboratory for Standardization of Chinese Medicines, Institute of Chinese Materia Medica, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shanghai, 201203, China.

3 Department of Diabetes Complications and Metabolism, Institute of Diabetes and Metabolism Research Center, Beckman Research Institute, City of Hope National Medical Center, 1500 E. Duarte Road, Duarte, CA 91010, USA.

4 Shanghai Institute of Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China.

Keywords: 

bile acid, FXR, TGR5, GPBAR1, bile salt hydrolase, CYP8B1.

Abbreviatons:

6-ECDCA – 6α-ethyl-chenodeoxycholic acid;

BSH – bile salt hydrolase;

BTA – betulinic acid;

CA – cholic acid;

CDCA – chenodesoxycholic acid;

DHA – dihydroartemisinin;

DPP-4 – dipeptidyl peptidase-4;

FXR – farnesoid X receptor;

GLP-1 – glucagon-like peptide-1;

HFD – high-fat diet;

LCA – lithocholic acid;

MCA – muricholic acid;

miR-26a – microRNA-26a;

NAFLD – nonalcoholic fatty liver disease;

NASH – nonalcoholic steatohepatitis;

OA – oleanolic acid;

PBC – primary biliary cholangitis;

PEG – polyethylene glycol;

PYY – peptide YY;

RYGB – Roux-en-Y gastric bypass;

SAR – structure-activity relationship;

TβMCA – tauro-β-muricholic acid;

TCA – tauro-cholic acid;

TGR5 – Takeda G-protein-coupled receptor 5;

TLCA – taurolithocholic acid;

UDCA – ursodeoxycholic acid;

VSG – vertical sleeve gastrectomy.

Corresponding Author(s):

Jingyan Tian, Shanghai Institute of Endocrine and Metabolic Diseases, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai 200025, China; tianjypaper@163.com Yang Wang, School of Pharmacy, Fudan University, Shanghai 201203, China; wangyang@shmu.edu.cn

Conflict of interest statement:

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Please cite this article as:

Hanchen Shen, Lili Ding, Mehdi Baig, Jingyan Tian, Yang Wang and Wendong Huang (2021). Improving glucose and lipids metabolism: drug development based on bile acid related targets. Cell Stress 5(1): 1-18. doi: 10.15698/cst2021.01.239

© 2021 Korenkova et al. This is an open-access article released under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license, which allows the unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduc-tion in any medium, provided the original author and source are acknowledged.

Abstract:

Bariatric surgery is one of the most effective treatment options for severe obesity and its comorbidities. However, it is a major surgery that poses several side effects and risks which impede its clinical use. Therefore, it is urgent to develop alternative safer pharmacological approaches to mimic bariatric surgery. Recent studies suggest that bile acids are key players in mediating the metabolic benefits of bariatric surgery. Bile acids can function as signaling molecules by targeting bile acid nuclear receptors and membrane receptors, like FXR and TGR5 respectively. In addition, the composition of bile acids is regulated by either the hepatic sterol enzymes such as CYP8B1 or the gut microbiome. These bile acid related targets all play important roles in regulating metabolism. Drug development based on these targets could provide new hope for patients without the risks of surgery and at a lower cost. In this review, we summarize the most updated progress on bile acid related targets and development of small molecules as drug candidates based on these targets.