Issue Archive

Research progress of the regulation of orphan nuclear receptors on chronic liver diseases

YANG Zhi-Hui¹, WANG Jia-Hui¹, WANG Lei¹, DUAN Xue-Lin², WANG Hong-Hong¹, PENG Yue², ZHAO Tie-Jian², ZHENG Yang^1,*

¹Department of Medicine, Faculty of Chinese Medicine Science, Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanning 530222, China；²Department of Physiology, School of Basic Medicine, Guangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanning 530222, China

Abstract

The development of chronic liver disease can be promoted by excessive fat accumulation, dysbiosis, viral infections and persistent inflammatory responses, which can lead to liver inflammation, fibrosis and carcinogenesis. An in-depth understanding of the etiology leading to chronic liver disease and the underlying mechanisms influencing its development can help identify potential therapeutic targets for targeted treatment. Orphan nuclear receptors (ONRs) are receptors that have no corresponding endogenous ligands to bind to them. The study of these ONRs and their biological properties has facilitated the development of synthetic ligands, which are important for investigating the effective targets for the treatment of a wide range of diseases. In recent years, it has been found that ONRs are essential for maintaining normal liver function and their dysfunction can affect a variety of liver diseases. ONRs can influence pathophysiological activities such as liver lipid metabolism, inflammatory response and cancer cell proliferation by regulating hormones/transcription factors and affecting the biological clock, oxidative stress, etc. This review focuses on the regulation of ONRs, mainly including retinoid related orphan nuclear receptors (RORs), pregnane X receptor (PXR), leukocyte cell derived chemotaxin 2 (LECT2), Nur77, and hepatocyte nuclear factor 4α (HNF4α), on the development of different types of chronic liver diseases in different ways, in order to provide useful references for the therapeutic strategies of chronic liver diseases based on the regulation of ONRs.

Key words: orphan nuclear receptors; RORs; LECT2; Nur77; chronic liver diseases

Received: 　　Accepted:

Corresponding author: 郑洋　　E-mail: zhengy@gxtcmu.edu.cn; 1793853705@qq.com

Citing This Article：

YANG Zhi-Hui, WANG Jia-Hui, WANG Lei, DUAN Xue-Lin, WANG Hong-Hong, PENG Yue, ZHAO Tie-Jian, ZHENG Yang. Research progress of the regulation of orphan nuclear receptors on chronic liver diseases. Acta Physiol Sin 2023; 75 (4): 555-568 (in Chinese with English abstract).