Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors: a family of lipid-activated transcription factors

• Published in: The American journal of clinical nutrition Vol. 70; no. 4; pp. 566 - 571
• Main Authors: CLARKE, S. D, THUILLIER, P, BAILLIE, R. A, XIAOMING SHA
• Format: Conference Proceeding Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bethesda, MD American Society for Clinical Nutrition 01.10.1999; American Society for Clinical Nutrition, Inc
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; Cells; Fatty acids; Fatty Acids - metabolism; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gene Expression Regulation; Genes; Humans; Ligands; Lipids; Metabolism; Molecular and cellular biology; Molecular genetics; Peroxisome Proliferators - metabolism; Proteins; Receptors, Calcitriol - metabolism; Receptors, Calcitriol - physiology; Receptors, Retinoic Acid - metabolism; Receptors, Retinoic Acid - physiology; Receptors, Steroid - metabolism; Receptors, Steroid - physiology; Receptors, Thyroid Hormone - metabolism; Receptors, Thyroid Hormone - physiology; Transcription Factors - metabolism; Transcription Factors - physiology; Transcription. Transcription factor. Splicing. Rna processing; Vitamins; Human; Cardiovascular disease; Lipids; Review; Glucose; Metabolism; Fatty acids; Peroxisome proliferator; Vascular disease; Thermogenesis; Animal; Eicosanoid; Atherosclerosis; Carbohydrate; Differentiation; Transcription factor; Biological receptor
• ISSN: 0002-9165; 1938-3207
• DOI: 10.1093/ajcn/70.4.566

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) are a family of nuclear transcription factors that belong to the steroid receptor superfamily. This family of PPARs includes PPARalpha, PPARdelta, PPARgamma1, and PPARgamma2. These PPARs are related to the T3 and vitamin D(3) receptors and bind to a hexameric direct repeat as a heterodimeric complex with retinoid receptor Xalpha. PPARs regulate the expression of a wide array of genes that encode proteins involved in lipid metabolism, energy balance, eicosanoid signaling, cell differentiation, and tumorigenesis. A unique feature of these steroid-like receptors is that the physiologic ligands for PPARs appear to be fatty acids from the n-6 and n-3 families of fatty acids and their respective eicosanoid products. This review describes the characteristics, regulation, and gene targets for PPARs and relates their effects on gene expression to physiologic outcomes that affect lipid and glucose metabolism, thermogenesis, atherosclerosis, and cell differentiation.