Abstract
Objective: Dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids have a signi cant impact on the activity and abundance of key transcription factors controlling the expression of proteins involved in major metabolic pathways. The primary objective of this review is to provide an overview of our understanding of how dietary PUFA effects on gene expression lead to changes in hepatic metabolism.
Design: Narrative review. This review will focus on how dietary PUFA control hepatic lipid synthesis and oxidation through the regulation of speci c transcription factors. Research articles that address critical issues in fatty acid regulation of gene expression were identi ed. Information from these papers is summarized.
Results: Four families of hepatic transcription factors have been identi ed that are regulated by changes in dietary lipid intake or by treating cultured cells with speci c fatty acids. These families include: peroxisome proliferator activated receptors (PPARa, b, g1, g2), liver X receptors (LXRa and b), hepatic nuclear factor-4 a (HNF-4a) and sterol regulatory element binding protein (SREBP-1a, -1c and –2). Together, these factors control carbohydrate and lipid metabolism, cholesterol and bile acid metabolism and apolipoproteins production.
Conclusions: These studies reveal a complex interaction between dietary lipid, speci c transcription factors and hepatic carbohydrate, lipid, cholesterol and bile acid metabolism.