title: Novel bile acid therapeutics for the treatment of chronic liver diseases.
abstract: Recent developments in understanding the role of bile acids (BAs) as signalling molecules in human metabolism and inflammation have opened new avenues in the field of hepatology research. BAs are no longer considered as simple molecules helping in fat digestion but as agents with real therapeutic value in treating complex autoimmune and metabolic liver diseases. BAs and their receptors such as farnesoid X receptor, transmembrane G protein-coupled receptor 5 and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor have been identified as novel targets for drug development. Some of these novel pharmaceuticals are already in clinical evaluation with the most advanced drugs having reached phase III trials. Chronic liver diseases such as primary biliary cholangitis, primary sclerosing cholangitis and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, for which there is no or limited pharmacotherapy, are most likely to gain from these developments. In this review we discuss recent and the most relevant basic and clinical research findings related to BAs and their implications for novel therapy for chronic liver diseases.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Research Fellow, Fourth Floor, Institute of Cellular Medicine, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4HH, UK.
authors.forename: Vinod S
authors.initials: VS
authors.lastname: Hegade
authors.affiliation: Institute of Cellular Medicine, Faculty of Medical Science, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
authors.forename: R Alexander
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Speight
authors.affiliation: Institute of Cellular Medicine, Faculty of Medical Science, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
authors.forename: Rachel E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Etherington
authors.affiliation: Institute of Cellular Medicine, Faculty of Medical Science, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
authors.forename: David E J
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Jones
keywords: bile acids; drug therapy; liver disease; nonalcoholic fatty liver disease; primary biliary cholangitis; primary sclerosing cholangitis