Nutrients and genes in the liver: The central role of liver x receptor in lipogenesis

Dietary fats are an important energy source, which form an essential part of membranes and function as precursors of important molecules, such as hormones. Changes in the dietary fatty acids composition can deeply influence health and susceptibility to diseases. For example, current dietary guidelines discourage consumption of saturated fatty acids and encourage consumption of unsaturated fatty acids such as n-3 fatty acids that are contained in fish oil. N-3 fatty acids intake is associated with decreased plasma triglyceride concentrations and cardiac arrhythmias prevention. Dietary fatty acids, like other nutrients, are able to influence biological processes by altering DNA transcription through nuclear receptors. Specifically, the liver X receptor (LXR) exerts a main function in liver fatty acids metabolism via sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1c (SREBP1c) and carbohydrate response element-binding protein (ChREBP). Alterations on this nuclear receptor may alter normal metabolism and contribute to the pathogenesis of various diseases.