title: PPARα as a therapeutic target in inflammation-associated diseases.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The nuclear receptor peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARα) 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 PPARα behaves as a modulator of both acute and chronic inflammation. PPARα became a rational potential therapeutic target for the treatment of inflammatory disorders.
  
  
  METHODS
  The ability of PPARα to control inflammatory signaling pathways via a diversity of molecular mechanisms is discussed. This review is especially focused on the global action of PPARα on inflammation in several tissues from data obtained in numerous cell types and in vivo models exposed to inflammatory stimuli.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Available PPARα 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 PPARα 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 PPARα agonists more specifically active in the control inflammatory signaling.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Biochimie, Faculté des Sciences Pharmaceutiques et Biologiques, Université Lille Nord de France, 3, rue du professeur Laguesse, BP83 F-59006, Lille, France. philippe.gervois@univ-lille2.fr
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Gervois
authors.forename: Roxane M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Mansouri
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000378:metabolism*; D008024:Ligands; D047493:PPAR alpha / Q000378:metabolism*; D011487:Protein Conformation
chemical_list: D008024:Ligands; D047493:PPAR alpha