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Savla SR, Prabhavalkar KS, Bhatt LK. Liver X Receptor: a potential target in the treatment of atherosclerosis. Expert Opin Ther Targets 2022; 26:645-658. [PMID: 36003057 DOI: 10.1080/14728222.2022.2117610] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Liver X receptors (LXRs) are master regulators of atherogenesis. Their anti-atherogenic potential has been attributed to their role in the inhibition of macrophage-mediated inflammation and promotion of reverse cholesterol transport. Owing to the significance of their anti-atherogenic potential, it is essential to develop and test new generation LXR agonists, both synthetic and natural, to identify potential LXR-targeted therapeutics for the future. AREAS COVERED This review describes the role of LXRs in atherosclerotic development, provides a summary of LXR agonists and future directions for atherosclerosis research. We searched PubMed, Scopus and Google Scholar for relevant reports, from last 10 years, using atherosclerosis, liver X receptor, and LXR agonist as keywords. EXPERT OPINION LXRα has gained widespread recognition as a regulator of cholesterol homeostasis and expression of inflammatory genes. Further research using models of cell type-specific knockout and specific agonist-targeted LXR isoforms is warranted. Enthusiasm for therapeutic value of LXR agonists has been tempered due to LXRα-mediated induction of hepatic lipogenesis. LXRα agonism and LXRβ targeting, gut-specific inverse LXR agonists, investigations combining LXR agonists with other lipogenesis mitigating agents, like IDOL antagonists and synthetic HDL, and targeting ABCA1, M2 macrophages and LXRα phosphorylation, remain as promising possibilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shreya R Savla
- Department of Pharmacology, SVKM's Dr. Bhanuben Nanavati College of Pharmacy, Mumbai 400056, India
| | - Kedar S Prabhavalkar
- Department of Pharmacology, SVKM's Dr. Bhanuben Nanavati College of Pharmacy, Mumbai 400056, India
| | - Lokesh K Bhatt
- Department of Pharmacology, SVKM's Dr. Bhanuben Nanavati College of Pharmacy, Mumbai 400056, India
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Buñay J, Fouache A, Trousson A, de Joussineau C, Bouchareb E, Zhu Z, Kocer A, Morel L, Baron S, Lobaccaro JMA. Screening for liver X receptor modulators: Where are we and for what use? Br J Pharmacol 2020; 178:3277-3293. [PMID: 33080050 DOI: 10.1111/bph.15286] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2020] [Revised: 09/14/2020] [Accepted: 10/05/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Liver X receptors (LXRs) are members of the nuclear receptor superfamily that are canonically activated by oxidized derivatives of cholesterol. Since the mid-90s, numerous groups have identified LXRs as endocrine receptors that are involved in the regulation of various physiological functions. As a result, when their expression is genetically modified in mice, phenotypic analyses reveal endocrine disorders ranging from infertility to diabetes and obesity, nervous system pathologies such Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease, immunological disturbances, inflammatory response, and enhancement of tumour development. Based on such findings, it appears that LXRs could constitute good pharmacological targets to prevent and/or to treat these diseases. This review discusses the various aspects of LXR drug discovery, from the tools available for the screening of potential LXR modulators to the current situational analysis of the drugs in development. LINKED ARTICLES: This article is part of a themed issue on Oxysterols, Lifelong Health and Therapeutics. To view the other articles in this section visit http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bph.v178.16/issuetoc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julio Buñay
- Université Clermont Auvergne, GReD, CNRS, INSERM, and Centre de Recherche en Nutrition Humaine d'Auvergne Clermont-Ferrand, Clermont-Ferrand, France
| | - Allan Fouache
- Université Clermont Auvergne, GReD, CNRS, INSERM, and Centre de Recherche en Nutrition Humaine d'Auvergne Clermont-Ferrand, Clermont-Ferrand, France
| | - Amalia Trousson
- Université Clermont Auvergne, GReD, CNRS, INSERM, and Centre de Recherche en Nutrition Humaine d'Auvergne Clermont-Ferrand, Clermont-Ferrand, France
| | - Cyrille de Joussineau
- Université Clermont Auvergne, GReD, CNRS, INSERM, and Centre de Recherche en Nutrition Humaine d'Auvergne Clermont-Ferrand, Clermont-Ferrand, France
| | - Erwan Bouchareb
- Université Clermont Auvergne, GReD, CNRS, INSERM, and Centre de Recherche en Nutrition Humaine d'Auvergne Clermont-Ferrand, Clermont-Ferrand, France
| | - Zhekun Zhu
- Université Clermont Auvergne, GReD, CNRS, INSERM, and Centre de Recherche en Nutrition Humaine d'Auvergne Clermont-Ferrand, Clermont-Ferrand, France
| | - Ayhan Kocer
- Université Clermont Auvergne, GReD, CNRS, INSERM, and Centre de Recherche en Nutrition Humaine d'Auvergne Clermont-Ferrand, Clermont-Ferrand, France
| | - Laurent Morel
- Université Clermont Auvergne, GReD, CNRS, INSERM, and Centre de Recherche en Nutrition Humaine d'Auvergne Clermont-Ferrand, Clermont-Ferrand, France
| | - Silvere Baron
- Université Clermont Auvergne, GReD, CNRS, INSERM, and Centre de Recherche en Nutrition Humaine d'Auvergne Clermont-Ferrand, Clermont-Ferrand, France
| | - Jean-Marc A Lobaccaro
- Université Clermont Auvergne, GReD, CNRS, INSERM, and Centre de Recherche en Nutrition Humaine d'Auvergne Clermont-Ferrand, Clermont-Ferrand, France
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Wang G, Gao JH, He LH, Yu XH, Zhao ZW, Zou J, Wen FJ, Zhou L, Wan XJ, Tang CK. Fargesin alleviates atherosclerosis by promoting reverse cholesterol transport and reducing inflammatory response. Biochim Biophys Acta Mol Cell Biol Lipids 2020; 1865:158633. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbalip.2020.158633] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2019] [Revised: 12/26/2019] [Accepted: 01/14/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
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Lu L, Qin Y, Chen C, Zhang X, Xu X, Lv C, Wan X, Ruan W, Guo X. The atheroprotective roles of heart-protecting musk pills against atherosclerosis development in apolipoprotein E-deficient mice. ANNALS OF TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE 2020; 7:714. [PMID: 32042730 DOI: 10.21037/atm.2019.12.22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Background Heart-protecting musk pill (HMP), derived from Chinese herbal medicines, has been found to possess protective roles against atherosclerosis-related cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), however, the anti-atherosclerotic mechanisms of HMP are still unclear. Here, we investigated the effects of HMP on alleviating atherosclerotic lesion severity in mice and explored the molecular mechanisms. Methods Apolipoprotein E-deficient mice were fed western-type diet supplemented with HMP (25 mg/kg/day) or normal saline gavage for 20 weeks. Then histopathological staining was performed to assess the atheromatous plaque burden. Biochemical kits were used to detect levels of lipid profiles. Moreover, effector factors associated with lipid metabolism in liver and intestinal tissues were investigated by western blot and real-time PCR assays. Levels of signal molecules participating in the mitochondrial-mediated apoptosis pathway were detected by Western blot. Results We found that HMP notably reduced atherosclerotic lesion size (P<0.05) and improved plaque stability (P<0.05). HMP treatment decreased circulating TC (P<0.01), LDL-C (P<0.01) and TG (P<0.05) levels and increased HDL-C (P<0.05) content. HMP was found to suppress SREBP2, HMGCR and PCSK9 expressions (P<0.05), yet promote LDLR expression (P<0.05) in hepatocytes. Moreover, HMP was discovered to activate PPARα/CPT-1A cascade (P<0.05) and inhibit contents of SREBP1c and the lipogenic genes FAS and ACCα (P<0.05). The LBK1/AMPK cascade was also activated after HMP administration (P<0.05). Additionally, HMP was found to facilitate transintestinal cholesterol excretion by increasing ABCG5 and ABCG8 levels and reducing NPC1L1 content (P<0.05). In terms of vasoprotective activities, we observed that HMP decreased cleaved caspase-3 content (P<0.05) in the vascular intima, which might be due to inhibition of mitochondrial-related signaling pathway. Conclusions Altogether, our study indicates that HMP plays anti-atherosclerotic roles via regulating lipid metabolism and improving vascular intimal injury.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li Lu
- Department of Cardiology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China
| | - Yating Qin
- Department of Cardiology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China
| | - Chen Chen
- Department of Cardiology, The Third People's Hospital of Hubei Province, Wuhan 430030, China
| | - Xinxin Zhang
- Department of Cardiology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China
| | - Xiangyu Xu
- Department of Cardiology, The Second Hospital of Shandong University, Jinan 250000, China
| | - Chao Lv
- Department of Cardiology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China
| | - Xiaoning Wan
- Department of Cardiology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China
| | - Weibin Ruan
- Department of Cardiology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China
| | - Xiaomei Guo
- Department of Cardiology, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China
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Shi W, Hou T, Guo D, He H. Evaluation of hypolipidemic peptide (Val-Phe-Val-Arg-Asn) virtual screened from chickpea peptides by pharmacophore model in high-fat diet-induced obese rat. J Funct Foods 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jff.2019.01.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
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