Bile acids-basic and clinical-

Abstract

Bile acids are not only a driving force for bile secretion, but have also being attracting attention in recent years as a signal molecule to maintain homeostasis in living organisms, including glucose metabolism and lipid metabolism. Bile acids produced from cholesterol in the liver are excreted to the intestinal tract via bile ducts, where they suppress the growth of gut microbiome. Bile acids return to the liver through the portal vein (enterohepatic circulation), after receiving deconjugation and dehydration reactions by gut microbiome. Namely, bile acids are a molecule that transmits the intestinal environment containing gut microbiome to the liver. In addition to detailed molecular mechanisms involved in bile acid metabolism, this review will outline recent findings on congenital or acquired cholestasis, and therapies targeting bile acid related molecules.