Non-steroidal FXR agonist cilofexor improves cholestatic liver injury in the Mdr2 -/- mouse model of sclerosing cholangitis.

Treatment with cilofexor, a non-steroidal farnesoid X receptor (FXR) agonist, improved histological features of sclerosing cholangitis, cholestasis and hepatic fibrosis in the mouse model. These findings indicate, that pharmacological stimulation of intestinal FXR-mediated gut-liver signaling, via fibroblast growth factor 15 (thereby reducing bile acid synthesis), may be sufficient to attenuate cholestatic liver injury in the mouse model of sclerosing cholangitis, thus arguing for potential therapeutic properties of cilofexor in cholestatic liver diseases.