FXR regulates intestinal stem cells response to bile acids in a high fat diet

Although a high fat diet (HFD) is known to be associated with a poor clinical outcome for colorectal cancer (CRC) patients, the precise mechanisms underlying this are poorly understood. Fu and colleagues have recently identified high levels of bile acid (BA) in a preclinical mouse model of colon cancer, and that a HFD increases BA further which in turn promotes proliferation in Lgr5+ stem cells, via inhibition of farnesoid X receptor (FXR), to drive tumour progression (1).