LXRα phosphorylation in cardiometabolic disease: Insight from mouse models

Posttranslational modifications, such as phosphorylation, are a powerful means by which the activity and function of nuclear receptors such as LXRα can be altered. However, despite the established importance of nuclear receptors in maintaining metabolic homeostasis, our understanding of how phosphorylation affects metabolic diseases is limited. The physiological consequences of LXRα phosphorylation have, until recently, been studied only in vitro or nonspecifically in animal models by pharmacologically or genetically altering the enzymes enhancing or inhibiting these modifications. Here we review recent reports on the physiological consequences of modifying LXRα phosphorylation at serine 196 (S196) in cardiometabolic disease, including nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, atherosclerosis, and obesity. A unifying theme from these studies is that LXRα S196 phosphorylation rewires the LXR-modulated transcriptome, which in turn alters physiological response to environmental signals, and that this is largely distinct from the LXR-ligand-dependent action.