Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: The Bile Acid-Activated Farnesoid X Receptor as an Emerging Treatment Target

Figure 3

Pro- and antiatherogenic effects of FXR activation. With regard to atherosclerosis, activation of FXR may be associated with beneficial and potential negative effects. Unless tested in humans, one cannot predict with certainty whether pro- or antiatherogenic effects are dominant and development of specific FXR modulators may help to avoid some or most of the negative effects. VCAM: vascular cell adhesion protein. ICAM: intracellular adhesion molecule.