Thyroid hormone regulation of hepatic lipid and carbohydrate metabolism

• Thyroid hormone induces hepatic lipogenesis and lipophagy.
• Thyroid hormone increases reverse cholesterol transport.
• Thyroid hormone regulates hepatic gluconeogenesis via SirT1 and FoxO1.

Thyroid hormone (TH) has important roles in regulating hepatic lipid, cholesterol, and glucose metabolism. Recent findings suggest that clinical conditions such as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus, which are associated with dysregulated hepatic metabolism, may involve altered intracellular TH action. In addition, TH has key roles in lipophagy in lipid metabolism, mitochondrial quality control, and the regulation of metabolic genes. In this review, we discuss recent findings regarding the functions of TH in hepatic metabolism, the relationship between TH and metabolic disorders, and the potential therapeutic use of thyromimetics to treat metabolic dysfunction in the liver.