Glossary

M-P

Nuclear Hormone Receptors

A family of intracellular receptors that bind lipid-soluble molecules (i.e. steroid hormones, bile acids, etc.), and subsequently move to the nucleus and function as transcriptional activators, controlling gene expression. Some of these receptors termed orphan receptors, because the ligand molecules to which these receptors bind had not yet been identified, have recently been shown to be involved in carbohydrate and lipid metabolism.