Abstract
Bile acids, which were thought to be substances important for digestion and absorption of lipids, are considered as novel metabolic regulators. Bile acids are versatile signal molecules with a plethora of endocrine as well as metabolic effects through interaction with many nuclear and cytoplasmic receptors.
Among them, the most important is nuclear farnesoid X receptor (FXR) and cytoplasmic TGR5 receptor. Activation of FXR and TGR5 by bile acids influences lipid and glucose metabolism, inflammation, energy metabolism, fibrogenesis, as well as carcinogenesis.