Pleiotropic Actions of Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptors (PPARs) in Dysregulated Metabolic Homeostasis, Inflammation and Cancer: Current Evidence and Future Perspectives

• Published in: International Journal of Molecular Sciences Vol. 17; no. 7; p. 999
• Main Authors: Laganà, Antonio Simone, Vitale, Salvatore Giovanni, Nigro, Angela, Sofo, Vincenza, Salmeri, Francesca Maria, Rossetti, Paola, Rapisarda, Agnese Maria Chiara, La Vignera, Sandro, Condorelli, Rosita Angela, Rizzo, Gianluca, Buscema, Massimo
• Format: Journal Article Book Review
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 24-06-2016; MDPI
• Subjects: Animals; Cancer; Carcinogenesis - genetics; Carcinogenesis - metabolism; cardiovascular diseases; Cell adhesion & migration; dyslipidemia; energy balance; fibrates; Genetic Pleiotropy; Homeostasis; Humans; Inflammation - genetics; Inflammation - metabolism; Inflammatory diseases; Metabolic disorders; metabolic syndrome; Neurons; obesity; peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors; Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptors - agonists; Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptors - genetics; Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptors - metabolism; Review; thiazolinediones; type 2 diabetes; metabolic syndrome; fibrates; type 2 diabetes; peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors; thiazolinediones; cancer; energy balance; cardiovascular diseases; dyslipidemia; obesity
• ISSN: 1422-0067; 1661-6596; 1422-0067
• DOI: 10.3390/ijms17070999

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) have demonstrated a lot of important effects in the regulation of glucose and lipid metabolism and in the correct functioning of adipose tissue. Recently, many studies have evaluated a possible effect of PPARs on tumor cells. The purpose of this review is to describe the effects of PPARs, their action and their future prospective;
Narrative review aimed to synthesize cutting-edge evidence retrieved from searches of computerized databases;
PPARs play a key role in metabolic diseases, which include several cardiovascular diseases, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, impaired immunity and the increasing risk of cancer; in particular, PPARα and PPARβ/δ mainly enable energy combustion, while PPARγ contributes to energy storage by enhancing adipogenesis;
PPAR agonists could represent interesting types of molecules that can treat not only metabolic diseases, but also inflammation and cancer. Additional research is needed for the identification of high-affinity, high-specificity agonists for the treatment of obesity, type 2 diabetes (T2DM) and other metabolic diseases. Further studies are needed also to elucidate the role of PPARs in cancer.