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Updated: Jun 27, 2026

Murine Precision-Cut Liver Slices as an Ex Vivo Model of Liver Biology
Published on: March 14, 2020
Minireview: liver X receptor beta: emerging roles in physiology and diseases
Chiara Gabbi1, Margaret Warner, Jan-Ake Gustafsson
1Department of Biosciences and Nutrition, Karolinska Institute, Novum, S-141 86 Stockholm, Sweden.
Abstract:
Liver X receptors, LXRalpha and LXRbeta, are nuclear receptors belonging to the large family of transcription factors. After activation by oxysterols, LXRs play a central role in the control of lipid and carbohydrate metabolism as well as inflammation. The role of LXRalpha has been extensively studied, particularly in the liver and macrophages. In the liver it prevents cholesterol accumulation by increasing bile acid synthesis and secretion into the bile through ATP-binding cassette G5/G8 transporters, whereas in macrophages it increases cholesterol reverse transport. The function of LXRbeta is still under investigation with most of the current knowledge coming from the study of phenotypes of LXRbeta-/- mice. With these mice new emerging roles for LXRbeta have been demonstrated in the pathogenesis of diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and chronic pancreatitis. The present review will focus on the abnormalities described so far in LXRbeta-/- mice and the insight gained into the possible roles of LXRbeta in human diseases.
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