The cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) promotes the heteroexchange of cholesteryl esters and triglycerides (TG) between plasma high density lipoproteins (HDL) and apoB-containing lipoproteins, resulting in a proatherogenic plasma lipid profi le with increased VLDL and LDL cholesterol levels and decreased HDL cholesterol (HDL-C) ( 1, 2 ). Given the key importance of dyslipidemia for the development of atherosclerosis ( 3 ), most ( 1, 2, 4-6 ) but Abstract Cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) activity results in a proatherogenic lipoprotein profi le. In cholestatic conditions, farnesoid X receptor (FXR) signaling by bile acids (BA) is activated and plasma HDL cholesterol (HDL-C) levels are low. This study tested the hypothesis that FXR-mediated induction of CETP contributes to this phenotype. Patients with cholestasis and high plasma BA had lower HDL-C levels and higher plasma CETP activity and mass compared with matched controls with low plasma BA (each P < 0.01). BA feeding in APOE3*Leiden transgenic mice expressing the human CETP transgene controlled by its endogenous promoter increased cholesterol within apoBcontaining lipoproteins and decreased HDL-C (each P < 0.01), while hepatic CETP mRNA expression and plasma CETP activity and mass increased (each P < 0.01). In vitro studies confi rmed that FXR agonists substantially augmented CETP mRNA expression in hepatocytes and macrophages dependent on functional FXR expression (each P < 0.001). These transcriptional effects are likely mediated by an ER8 FXR response element (FXRE) in the fi rst intron. In conclusion, using a translational approach, this study identifi es CETP as novel FXR target gene. By increasing CETP expression, FXR activation leads to a proatherogenic