Research

Energy balance

Chronic undernutrition is associated with dysregulated PPARα and FXR signaling, leading to decreased bile acid levels, suppressed secretion of complement and coagulation factors, and increased autophagy.

In cases of severe chronic undernutrition, the body's metabolic sensors (PPARα and FXR) become dysregulated, leading to low bile acids and impaired immune/clotting functions. This suggests that nutritional rehabilitation should potentially target these specific pathways (e.g., bile acid replacement or receptor agonists) to restore normal metabolic function, rather than just providing calories.

ModerateSupportsMEDIUM confidence
Taken together, these findings suggest that undernourished individuals have decreased secretion of albumin, complement proteins, coagulation factors, and bile acids.
Geoffrey A. Preidis et al. · Journal of Clinical Investigation · 2017

Why this rating

Based on observational studies in humans and animal models, but the exact mechanistic causality in humans is still being elucidated (preliminary evidence).

Source

Nutrient-sensing nuclear receptors PPARα and FXR control liver energy balance

Geoffrey A. Preidis et al. · Journal of Clinical Investigation · 2017

DOI 10.1172/jci88893

narrative_reviewCited 198×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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