Liver X receptor agonists as potential therapeutic agents for dyslipidemia and atherosclerosis

The recent identification of liver X receptors (LXR) as regulators of the cholesterol and phospholipid export pump ABCA1 has raised the possibility that LXR agonists could be developed as HDL-raising agents, possibly also acting on the artery wall to stimulate cholesterol efflux from lipid-laden macrophages. Presently several pharmaceutical companies are working to develop such compounds, which will require finding a path for separating these beneficial effects from the detrimental stimulation of triglyceride synthesis also inherent to LXR agonists. Other challenges to the drug development process include species differences, which makes prediction of in vivo effects of LXR agonists in humans difficult. This review summarizes the present state of knowledge on LXR as a drug target and discusses possible solutions for dissociating the favorable effects of LXR agonists from their unwanted effects.