Review Article

Nuclear Receptors in the Pathogenesis and Management of Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Table 2

Randomized placebo-controlled trials of NRs agonists in IBD.

NRsAgonistDesignOutcomeRef.

PPARγRosiglitazoneMild to moderately active UC
rosiglitazone () vs. placebo ()
4 mg twice daily vs. placebo
12W clinical response 44% of rosiglitazone vs. 23% of placebo[32]

VDRVitamin D3CD in remission 1200 IU vitamin D3 () vs. placebo () once daily12M relapse rate: vitamin D3 13% vs. placebo 29%[50]
Vitamin D3UC in remission 300,000 IU intramuscular vitamin D3 vs. 1 mL normal saline as placebo ()90 days after intervention
Vitamin D3 decreases ESR and hs-CRP levels and increase in LL37 gene expression
[51]

PXRRifaximinMild-to-moderate CD
rifaximin 800 mg o.d.+ placebo o.d. () rifaximin 800 mg b.d. () placebo b.d. ()
12W clinical remission rate: 32%, 52%, 33%
12W clinical response rate: 48%, 67%, 41%
[70]
RifaximinModerately active CD
rifaximin 800 mg () vs placebo ()
12W remission rate: 62% of rifaximin vs. 43% of placebo[71]
RifaximinModerately active CD in remission 800 mg of rifaximin () b.d. vs. 800 mg placebo ()12W remission rate: 100% of rifaximin vs. 87% of placebo[72]

NRs, nuclear receptors; IBD, inflammatory bowel disease; PPARγ, proliferator-activated receptor-γ; UC, ulcerative colitis; CD, Crohn’s disease; W, week; VDR, vitamin D receptor; M, month; hs-CRP, high-sensitive C-reactive protein; ESR, erythrocyte sedimentation rate; PXR, pregnane X receptor.