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Phoenix666 [soylentnews.org] writes:

Researchers were able to reverse fatty liver disease in obese and diabetic mice [futurity.org] after feeding them bile acid that can turn off a receptor in the gut.

The mice only needed to eat a small amount of the compound, called glycine-beta muricholic acid (Gly-MCA), to see metabolic benefits. For a human, the equivalent would be a single dose in pill form once a day, says Andrew Patterson, associate professor of molecular toxicology at Penn State and one of the researchers involved in the study.

The findings, published in Nature Communications [doi.org], show that Gly-MCA can inhibit the farnesoid X receptor (FXR), a transcription factor that regulates the expression of certain genes in tissues like those of the intestine and liver.

“Depending on the balance of conjugated and unconjugated bile acids, bacteria can modify these bile acid pools and turn off or turn on this receptor—FXR—in the gut,” says Frank Gonzalez, chief of the laboratory of metabolism at the National Cancer Institute.

Original study. [doi.org]

Original Submission