title: Liver X receptors, lipids and their reproductive secrets in the male.
abstract: Liver X receptor (LXR) α and LXRβ belong to the nuclear receptor superfamily. For many years, they have been called orphan receptors, as no natural ligand was identified. In the last decade, the LXR natural ligands have been shown to be oxysterols, molecules derived from cholesterol. While these nuclear receptors have been abundantly studied for their roles in the regulation of lipid metabolism, it appears that they also present crucial activities in reproductive organs such as testis and epididymis, as well as prostate. Phenotypic analyses of mice lacking LXRs (lxr-/-) pointed out their physiological activities in the various cells and organs regulating reproductive functions. This review summarizes the impact of LXR-deficiency in male reproduction, highlighting the novel information coming from the phenotypic analyses of lxrα-/-, lxrβ-/- and lxrα;β-/- mice. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Translating nuclear receptor from health to disease.
authors.affiliation: CNRS Unité Mixte de Recherche 6247 Génétique, Reproduction et Développement, F-63171 Aubière, France.
authors.forename: Fatim-Zorah
authors.initials: FZ
authors.lastname: El-Hajjaji
authors.forename: Abdelkader
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Oumeddour
authors.forename: Aurélien J C
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Pommier
authors.forename: Aurélia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ouvrier
authors.forename: Emilie
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Viennois
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dufour
authors.forename: Françoise
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Caira
authors.forename: Joël R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Drevet
authors.forename: David H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Volle
authors.forename: Silvère
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Baron
authors.forename: Fabrice
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Saez
authors.forename: Jean-Marc A
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Lobaccaro
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004822:Epididymis / Q000002:abnormalities; D006801:Humans; D008055:Lipids / Q000502:physiology*; D000071518:Liver X Receptors; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D057093:Orphan Nuclear Receptors / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D012098:Reproduction; D013737:Testis / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D008055:Lipids; D000071518:Liver X Receptors; C000605213:NR1H3 protein, human; C000605214:Nr1h3 protein, mouse; D057093:Orphan Nuclear Receptors