title: The Role of PPAR Gamma in Systemic Sclerosis.
abstract: Fibrosis is recognized as an important feature of many chronic diseases, such as systemic sclerosis (SSc), an autoimmune disease of unknown etiology, characterized by immune dysregulation and vascular injury, followed by progressive fibrosis affecting the skin and multiple internal organs. SSc has a poor prognosis because no therapy has been shown to reverse or arrest the progression of fibrosis, representing a major unmet medical need. Recently, antifibrotic effects of PPARγ ligands have been studied in vitro and in vivo and some theories have emerged leading to new insights. Aberrant PPARγ function seems to be implicated in pathological fibrosis in the skin and lungs. This antifibrotic effect is mainly related to the inhibition of TGF-β/Smad signal transduction but other pathways can be involved. This review focused on recent studies that identified PPARγ as an important novel pathway with critical roles in regulating connective tissue homeostasis, with emphasis on skin and lung fibrosis and its role on systemic sclerosis.
authors.affiliation: Serviço de Reumatologia do Hospital das Clínicas da Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (HC-UFPE), 50670-901 Recife, PE, Brazil ; Laboratório de Imunomodulação e Novas Abordagens Terapêuticas da Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (LINAT-UFPE), 50670-901 Recife, PE, Brazil.
authors.forename: Andréa Tavares
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Dantas
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Imunomodulação e Novas Abordagens Terapêuticas da Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (LINAT-UFPE), 50670-901 Recife, PE, Brazil.
authors.forename: Michelly Cristiny
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Pereira
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Imunomodulação e Novas Abordagens Terapêuticas da Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (LINAT-UFPE), 50670-901 Recife, PE, Brazil.
authors.forename: Moacyr Jesus Barreto
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: de Melo Rego
authors.affiliation: Serviço de Reumatologia do Hospital das Clínicas da Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (HC-UFPE), 50670-901 Recife, PE, Brazil ; Laboratório de Imunomodulação e Novas Abordagens Terapêuticas da Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (LINAT-UFPE), 50670-901 Recife, PE, Brazil.
authors.forename: Laurindo Ferreira
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: da Rocha
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Planejamento e Síntese de Fármacos da Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (LPSF-UFPE), 50670-901 Recife, PE, Brazil.
authors.forename: Ivan da Rocha
authors.initials: Ida R
authors.lastname: Pitta
authors.affiliation: Serviço de Reumatologia do Hospital das Clínicas da Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (HC-UFPE), 50670-901 Recife, PE, Brazil.
authors.forename: Cláudia Diniz Lopes
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Marques
authors.affiliation: Serviço de Reumatologia do Hospital das Clínicas da Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (HC-UFPE), 50670-901 Recife, PE, Brazil.
authors.forename: Angela Luzia Branco Pinto
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Duarte
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Imunomodulação e Novas Abordagens Terapêuticas da Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (LINAT-UFPE), 50670-901 Recife, PE, Brazil.
authors.forename: Maira Galdino da Rocha
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Pitta