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World J Gastroenterol. Jan 7, 2014; 20(1): 22-30
Published online Jan 7, 2014. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v20.i1.22
Published online Jan 7, 2014. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v20.i1.22
Hepatocyte nuclear factor 4-alpha involvement in liver and intestinal inflammatory networks
Jean-Philippe Babeu, François Boudreau, Département d’Anatomie et de Biologie Cellulaire, Faculté de Médecine et des Sciences de la Santé, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke J1E 4K8, Québec, Canada
Author contributions: Babeu JP and Boudreau F contributed equally to this work; Babeu JP wrote the manuscript and designed the figures; and Boudreau F wrote and edited the manuscript.
Correspondence to: François Boudreau, PhD, Département d’Anatomie et de Biologie Cellulaire, Faculté de Médecine et des Sciences de la Santé, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke J1E 4K8, Québec, Canada. francois.boudreau@usherbrooke.ca
Telephone: +1-819-8206868 Fax: +1-819-8206831
Received: September 29, 2013
Revised: November 15, 2013
Accepted: December 5, 2013
Published online: January 7, 2014
Revised: November 15, 2013
Accepted: December 5, 2013
Published online: January 7, 2014
Core Tip
Core tip: Hepatocyte nuclear factor 4-alpha (HNF4-α) is an important regulator of liver and intestinal epithelial cells function. Over the last years, HNF4-α has been associated with inflammatory bowel diseases following results obtained from knockout mice and human genome-wide association studies. However, no review has been published on the subject yet and no link with its known role in liver inflammation has been discussed. This review will gather for the first time all the current knowledge about the role of HNF4-α in gut inflammation, the potential impact of its isoforms in its role and hypotheses about the possible biological mechanisms involved.