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Updated: Nov 8, 2025

Using Multi-fluorinated Bile Acids and In Vivo Magnetic Resonance Imaging to Measure Bile Acid Transport
Published on: November 27, 2016
Bile acid sequestrants: a review of mechanism and design
Yumiao Feng1,2, Qian Li3,4, Ge Ou3,5
1State Key Laboratory of Toxicology and Medical Countermeasures, Beijing Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Beijing, China.
Objective:
Bile acid sequestrants (BAS) are used extensively in the treatment of hypercholesterolaemia. This brief review aimed to describe the design and evaluation of three types of BAS: amphiphilic copolymers, cyclodextrin/poly-cyclodextrin and molecular imprinted polymers. The mechanisms underlying the action of BAS are also discussed.
Key Findings:
BAS could lower plasma cholesterol, improve glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes and regulate balance energy metabolism via receptors or receptor-independent mediated mechanisms. Different types of BAS have different levels of ability to bind to bile acids, different stability and different in-vivo activity.
Conclusions:
A growing amount of evidence suggests that bile acids play important roles not only in lipid metabolism but also in glucose metabolism. The higher selectivity, specificity, stability and in-vivo activity of BAS show considerable potential for lipid-lowering therapy.
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