AUTHOR=Li Manman , Wang Zitong , Wang Pengyu , Li Hong , Yang Liming 

TITLE=TFEB: A Emerging Regulator in Lipid Homeostasis for Atherosclerosis

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Physiology

VOLUME=Volume 12 - 2021

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/physiology/articles/10.3389/fphys.2021.639920

DOI=10.3389/fphys.2021.639920

ISSN=1664-042X

ABSTRACT=Atherosclerosis, predominantly characterized by the disturbance of lipid homeostasis, has become the main causation of various cardiovascular diseases. Therefore, there is an urgent requirement to explore efficacious targets that act as lipid modulators for atherosclerosis. Transcription factor EB (TFEB), whose activity depends on post-translational modifications, such as phosphorylation, acetylation, SUMOylation, ubiquitination, etc., is deemed significant for normal cell physiology. Recently, mounting evidence implicates that TFEB has an emerging role in lipid homeostasis, as it functions to promote lipid degradation and efflux through mediating lipophagy, lipolysis, and lipid metabolism-related genes. Furthermore, a certain regulatory effect on lipid transporters and lipid mediators by TFEB is gradually emerging. Notably, TFEB makes a possible solution to be a judicious therapeutic target of atherosclerosis by regulating lipid metabolism. This review recapitulates the update and current advances on TFEB mediating lipid metabolism to focus on highlighting two intracellular activities: a) how cells perceive external stimuli and initiate transcription programs to modulate TFEB function, and b) how TFEB restores lipid homeostasis in the pathological process of atherosclerosis. An in-depth study might be conducive to developing potent agents for TFEB to alleviate or reverse the atherosclerosis progression.