Functions of the bile acids receptor FXR in intestinal epithelium

胆汁酸是肝脏合成的清洁剂，释放到小肠中，促进膳食脂质的吸收。胆汁酸在小肠末端被吸收，然后返回肝脏进行循环。十年前，人们发现了一种胆汁酸受体，它可以调节肝脏对胆汁酸的产生和肠道对胆汁酸的吸收，这大大扩展了我们对这一过程的理解。近年来，人们发现胆汁酸受体发挥着更广泛的作用，经常抵消过量胆汁酸的有害影响。Carrier博士将她的研究重点放在胆汁酸受体所属的核受体上，并将这一领域应用于肠道生理学。我们的初步结果表明，胆汁酸受体的激活减少了细胞的生长，但促进了特化进入小肠内部的功能性上皮细胞。

Bile acids are detergent synthesized in the liver and released into the small intestine to facilitate the absorption of dietary lipids. Bile acids are absorbed in the end of the small intestine to be return to the liver where they are recycled. Ten years ago, the discovery of a receptor for bile acids that regulates its production by the liver and absorption by the intestine markedly expand our understanding of this process. More recently, it has been found that bile acids receptor plays broader roles and often counteracts the deleterious effect of excessive bile acids. Dr Carrier concentrates her research effort on nuclear receptors in which the bile acids receptor belongs, and she applies this field to intestinal physiology. Our preliminary results demonstrated that the activation of bile acids receptor reduced cell growth but promote specialization into functional epithelial cells lining the inside of the small intestine.