Mice Lacking FXR Are Susceptible to Liver Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury

Activation of bile acid (BA) receptor, farnesoid X receptor (FXR) has been shown to inhibit inflammatory responses and improve tissue ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI). This study investigated the effect of FXR deficiency on liver IRI, using a liver warm IRI mouse model. We demonstrate that liver IRI resulted in decreased FXR expression in the liver of WT mice. FXR-/-mice displayed greater liver damage and inflammatory responses than WT mice, characterized by significant increases in liver weight, serum AST and ALT, hepatocyte apoptosis and liver inflammatory cytokines. Liver IRI increased expression of X box binding protein 1 (XBP1) and FGF21 in WT liver, but not in FXR-/- liver, which conversely increased CHOP expression, suggesting a loss of ER stress protection in the absence of FXR. FXR deficiency increased circulating total BAs and altered BA composition with reduced TUDCA and hepatic BA synthesis markers. FXR deficiency also reshaped gut microbiota composition with increased Bacteroidetes and Proteobacteria and decreased Firmicutes. Curiously, Bacteroidetes were positively and Firmicutes were negatively correlated with serum ALT levels. Administration of FXR agonist CDCA inhibited NF-{kappa}B activity and TNF expression in vitro and improved liver IRI in vivo. Our findings demonstrate that FXR signaling plays an important role in the modulation of liver IRI.