Perspectives on the therapeutic potential of short-chain fatty acid receptors.
There is rapidly growing interest in the human microbiome because of its implication in metabolic disorders and inflammatory diseases. Consequently, understanding the biology of short chain fatty acids and their receptors has become very important for identifying novel therapeutic avenues. GPR41 and GPR43 have been recognized as the cognate receptors for SCFAs and their roles in metabolism and inflammation have drawn much attention in recent years. GPR43 is highly expressed on immune cells and has been suggested to play a role in inflammatory diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease. Both GPR41 and GPR43 have been implicated in diabetes and obesity via the regulation of adipose tissue and gastrointestinal hormones. So far, many studies have provided contradictory results, and therefore further research is required to validate these receptors as drug targets. We will also discuss the synthetic modulators of GPR41 and GPR43 that are critical to understanding the functions of these receptors.
Targeted Medicine Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Ochang, Chungbuk 363-883; Department of Biomolecular Science, University of Science and Technology, Daejeon 305-350, Korea.
Sunhong
S
Kim
Medical Proteomics Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Ochang, Chungbuk 363-883; Department of Functional Genomics, University of Science and Technology, Daejeon 305-350, Korea.
Jeong-Hoon
JH
Kim
Targeted Medicine Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Ochang, Chungbuk 363-883; College of Pharmacy, Chungbuk National University, Cheongju 361-763, Korea.
Bi Oh
BO
Park
College of Pharmacy, Korea University, Sejong 339-700, Korea.
Young Shin
YS
Kwak
D000818:Animals; D005232:Fatty Acids, Volatile / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D058990:Molecular Targeted Therapy; D043562:Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled / Q000819:agonists / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism / Q000627:therapeutic use*
D005232:Fatty Acids, Volatile; D043562:Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled