A role for bile acids in cancer cachexia-associated liver inflammation
For several years, Laure Bindels' team (MNUT group) has been working on the contribution of the gut-liver axis to the development of cancer-associated cachexia. Cancer cachexia regroup the panel of metabolic alterations occurring upon cancer development. These alterations are directly responsible for weight loss in clinics and reduce both the quality and the length of life. However, the underlying mechanisms of cancer cachexia are still unclear and need to be explored.
In this context, Morgane Thibaut and colleagues recently published an article in Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle highlighting alterations in bile acid metabolism in cancer cachexia, both in mice and humans. In addition, they demonstrate the causal role of systemic inflammation to the impairment of the hepatobiliary transport system, and the role played by bile acids in the hepatic inflammation. This work set the stage to a better understanding of the role of the liver, and specifically bile acids, in cancer cachexia.
This research was funded by the F.R.S.-FNS, the Télévie and the FSR, among others.