PPARα as a therapeutic target in inflammation-associated diseases

Introduction: The nuclear receptor peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPAR alpha) plays a major regulatory function of genes involved in energy metabolism and is a therapeutic target for dyslipidemia. The last decade provided a constellation of findings demonstrating that PPARa behaves as a modulator of both acute and chronic inflammation. PPARa became a rational potential therapeutic target for the treatment of inflammatory disorders. Aeras covered: The ability of PPARa to control inflammatory signaling pathways via a diversity of molecular mechanisms is discussed. This review is especially focused on the global action of PPARa on inflammation in several tissues from data obtained in numerous cell types and in vivo models exposed to inflammatory stimuli. Expert opinion: Available PPARa agonists currently used in clinic belong to the class of hypolipidemic drugs but were not expected and not designed to act as anti-inflammatory drugs. To date, accumulating preclinical suggest evidence promising benefits when considering PPARa as a drug target to treat inflammatory disorders. However, clinical studies are needed to validate this concept. Drug design should also be directed toward the elaboration of PPARa agonists more specifically active in the control inflammatory signaling.