Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 29, 2026
08:42
Using Multi-fluorinated Bile Acids and In Vivo Magnetic Resonance Imaging to Measure Bile Acid Transport
Published on: November 27, 2016
11.6K
Bile acids as therapeutic agents
Brandon Vu1,2, Ryo Kawamoto1, Priscila Villalba-Davila3
1Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States.
Frontiers in Pharmacology
|January 28, 2026
Summary
Bile acids (BAs) show therapeutic potential beyond digestion, treating liver diseases like primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) and others. Research explores their use in cholestatic, metabolic, and neurodegenerative conditions.
Area of Science:
- Biochemistry
- Pharmacology
- Hepatology
Background:
- Bile acids (BAs) are amphipathic molecules crucial for lipid digestion.
- Emerging research highlights their therapeutic potential in various diseases.
- Ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) is FDA-approved for primary biliary cholangitis (PBC).
Purpose of the Study:
- To review established and emerging bile acid-based therapies.
- To explore the mechanisms of BA therapeutic effects.
- To discuss novel drug delivery systems for bile acids.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of established and emerging bile acid therapies.
- Analysis of signaling pathways modulated by bile acids (FXR, VDR, TGR5).
- Examination of physicochemical properties influencing BA efficacy and toxicity.
Main Results:
- Bile acids modulate signaling pathways, reduce liver injury, and regulate inflammation.
- Recent approvals include chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA) for cerebrotendinous xanthomatosis (CTX).
- Ongoing trials investigate norucholic acid (NCA) for primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC).
Conclusions:
- Bile acids offer therapeutic applications beyond cholestatic liver diseases, including metabolic and neurodegenerative disorders.
- Understanding BA physicochemical properties is key to optimizing efficacy and minimizing toxicity.
- Further research into BA monotherapies, combination regimens, and novel delivery systems is warranted.
Related Concept Videos
01:19Bile
4.1K
Bile is a crucial bodily fluid, characterized by its yellow-green color and alkaline nature. Produced in the liver, it is transported through the common hepatic duct into either the cystic duct, leading to the gallbladder, or directly into the common bile duct. The flow of bile is regulated by the sphincter of Oddi located at the entrance of the duodenum. When this sphincter is closed, bile is redirected to the gallbladder for storage and concentration.
Bile is released when dietary fats enter...
Bile is released when dietary fats enter...
4.1K
01:13Therapeutic Index
6.7K
The therapeutic index of a drug is a key parameter in pharmacology that quantifies the relative safety of a drug by calculating the ratio between the dose that causes toxicity in half the population (50%) to the dose that proves to be effective for half the population (50%). It provides a spectrum of doses for a particular drug ranging from effective to potentially toxic. To illustrate, consider an anticoagulant agent like warfarin. It possesses a narrow window within its therapeutic index to...
6.7K
01:29Subviral Agents
556
Subviral agents are infectious entities that resemble viruses but lack one or more viral components, such as a capsid or essential replication machinery. These agents include viroids, prions, and satellites, each possessing distinct structural and functional characteristics that influence their mode of infection and replication.Viroids are the simplest subviral agents, consisting of circular, single-stranded RNA molecules without a protein coat. They exclusively infect plants, relying entirely...
556
01:30Therapeutic Communication
7.9K
Communication is a lifelong learning process. Through therapeutic communication, nurses can collect relevant assessment data, provide education and counseling, and interact during nursing interventions. Sending and receiving messages occur through verbal and nonverbal communication techniques and can happen separately or simultaneously.
Verbal communication depends on language or a prescribed way of using words so that people can share information effectively. The critical aspects of verbal...
Verbal communication depends on language or a prescribed way of using words so that people can share information effectively. The critical aspects of verbal...
7.9K
03:42Amino acids
105.2K
Amino acids are the monomers that comprise proteins. Each amino acid has the same fundamental structure, which consists of a central carbon atom, or the alpha (α) carbon, bonded to an amino group (NH2), a carboxyl group (COOH), and to a hydrogen atom. Every amino acid also has another atom or group of atoms bonded to the central atom known as the R group. There are 20 common amino acids present in proteins, each with a different R group. Variation in the amino acid sequence is responsible for...
105.2K
03:38Polyprotic Acids
31.9K
Acids are classified by the number of protons per molecule that they can give up in a reaction. Acids such as HCl, HNO3, and HCN that contain one ionizable hydrogen atom in each molecule are called monoprotic acids. Their reactions with water are:
31.9K