Faculty Seminar - Dr. Ting Fu

(ALL-DIVISION COLLOQUIUM)
Promotion Seminar - Dr. Ting Fu (Pharmaceutical Sciences Division):

Unraveling the Bile Acid-FXR Axis: Defining Its Roles in Intestinal Health and Disease

Abstract
The intestine is a dynamic interface among the host, diet, and gut microbiota, where bile acids function as important signaling molecules through the nuclear receptor FXR. My laboratory investigates how changes in bile acid composition and FXR signaling are translated into cell-specific responses in intestinal homeostasis and disease. Our studies have shown that macrophage-intrinsic FXR regulates inflammatory programs in the intestinal mucosa and links altered bile acid homeostasis to inflammation-associated colorectal tumorigenesis. Building on these findings, we are investigating how bile acid–FXR signaling shapes tumor-associated macrophage plasticity and tumor immunity within the colorectal tumor microenvironment. In parallel, we have identified microbiota-modified bile acids that exert distinct and sometimes opposing effects on epithelial FXR signaling, intestinal stem-cell activity, and colorectal tumorigenesis, revealing how changes in the microbial metabolic environment can directly influence tumor-promoting or tumor-suppressive epithelial programs. Our current studies are further extending this work to understand how FXR integrates metabolic and developmental signals to regulate intestinal epithelial differentiation, maturation, and metabolism. Together, these studies define the bile acid-FXR axis as an important link between the intestinal metabolic environment, immune-cell function, epithelial regulation, and disease.