Biological Actions of PPAR-in Health and Disease

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) are ligand activated transcription factors that modulate target gene expression in response to endogenous and exogenous ligands. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors are expressed in many tissues, including adipocytes, hepatocytes, muscles and endothelial cells. The PPARs, a family of nuclear receptors (NRs), are a set of three receptor sub-types encoded by distinct genes. The discovery of PPAR-specific ligands has led to a significant advancement in our understanding of the structure of these receptor proteins and molecular mechanisms of their ligand dependent activation. The nuclear receptor peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-γ is a crucial cellular and metabolic switch that regulates many physiologic and disease processes.