Is This the Time to Reconsider the Names for Xenobiotic Nuclear Receptors?

Abstract

Pregnane X receptor (PXR) has been known as a xenobiotic nuclear receptor and transcriptional factor that is important for inducing the expression of genes involved in drug disposition (1, 2). Recently, PXR has emerged to critically regulate endobiotic metabolism, including the homeostasis of glucose, lipids, steroids, bile acids, bilirubin, retinoids and bone minerals, and maybe implicated in the treatment of cholestasis, inflammatory bowel disease, and nonalcoholic fatty liver diseases (3). PXR activation is also well known to increase liver size and cause liver hypertrophy. However, only a few studies have explored the role of PXR in liver regeneration and regrowth (4, 5), moreover, the exact mechanism by which PXR induces liver growth, especially how PXR interacts with the machinery of cellular proliferation, remains unclear. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.