The incidence of the metabolic syndrome has taken epidemic proportions in the past decades, contributing to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. The metabolic syndrome can be defined as a cluster of cardiovascular disease risk factors including visceral obesity, insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, increased blood pressure, and hypercoagulability. The farnesoid X receptor (FXR) belongs to the superfamily of ligand-activated nuclear receptor transcription factors. FXR is activated by bile acids, and FXR-deficient (FXR(-/-)) mice display elevated serum levels of triglycerides and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, demonstrating a critical role of FXR in lipid metabolism. In an opposite manner, activation of FXR by bile acids (BAs) or nonsteroidal synthetic FXR agonists lowers plasma triglycerides by a mechanism that may involve the repression of hepatic SREBP-1c expression and/or the modulation of glucose-induced lipogenic genes. A cross-talk between BA and glucose metabolism was recently identified, implicating both FXR-dependent and FXR-independent pathways. The first indication for a potential role of FXR in diabetes came from the observation that hepatic FXR expression is reduced in animal models of diabetes. While FXR(-/-) mice display both impaired glucose tolerance and decreased insulin sensitivity, activation of FXR improves hyperglycemia and dyslipidemia in vivo in diabetic mice. Finally, a recent report also indicates that BA may regulate energy expenditure in a FXR-independent manner in mice, via activation of the G protein-coupled receptor TGR5. Taken together, these findings suggest that modulation of FXR activity and BA metabolism may open new attractive pharmacological approaches for the treatment of the metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes.

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα) is a ligand-activated transcription factor belonging, together with PPARγ and PPARβ/δ, to the NR1C nuclear receptor subfamily. Many PPARα target genes are involved in fatty acid metabolism in tissues with high oxidative rates such as muscle, heart and liver. PPARα activation, in combination with PPARβ/δ agonism, improves steatosis, inflammation and fibrosis in pre-clinical models of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, identifying a new potential therapeutic area. In this review, we discuss the transcriptional activation and repression mechanisms by PPARα, the spectrum of target genes and chromatin-binding maps from recent genome-wide studies, paying particular attention to PPARα-regulation of hepatic fatty acid and plasma lipoprotein metabolism during nutritional transition, and of the inflammatory response. The role of PPARα, together with other PPARs, in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis will be discussed in light of available pre-clinical and clinical data.

PPARα is a nuclear receptor that regulates liver and skeletal muscle lipid metabolism as well as glucose homeostasis. Acting as a molecular sensor of endogenous fatty acids (FAs) and their derivatives, this ligand-activated transcription factor regulates the expression of genes encoding enzymes and transport proteins controlling lipid homeostasis, thereby stimulating FA oxidation and improving lipoprotein metabolism. PPARα also exerts pleiotropic antiinflammatory and antiproliferative effects and prevents the proatherogenic effects of cholesterol accumulation in macrophages by stimulating cholesterol efflux. Cellular and animal models of PPARα help explain the clinical actions of fibrates, synthetic PPARα agonists used to treat dyslipidemia and reduce cardiovascular disease and its complications in patients with the metabolic syndrome. Although these preclinical studies cannot predict all of the effects of PPARα in humans, recent findings have revealed potential adverse effects of PPARα action, underlining the need for further study. This Review will focus on the mechanisms of action of PPARα in metabolic diseases and their associated vascular pathologies. IntroductionNutrient metabolism and energy homeostasis are tightly regulated by endocrine, paracrine, and autocrine signals that control the expression and activity of key metabolic enzymes and transport proteins by transcriptional and posttranscriptional mechanisms. Lipid mediators play a critical role in metabolic control, and the PPARs (NR1Cs), a class of ligand-activated transcription factors, have emerged as master transcriptional regulators of lipid and carbohydrate metabolism. Saturated and unsaturated long-chain fatty acids (FAs) and their eicosanoid derivatives are natural activators of this subclass of nuclear receptors. Increased recognition of a role for PPARs in metabolic regulation came following the discovery that the hypolipidemic fibrates and the insulin sensitizers thiazolidinediones were synthetic ligands for PPARα (NR1C1; refs. 1, 2) and PPARγ (NR1C3; ref. 3), respectively. PPARδ (NR1C3), also known as PPARβ, is the third PPAR isotype.Accumulating evidence supports a link between the 3 PPARs and diabetes, obesity, dyslipidemia, and inflammation. PPARα controls liver and skeletal muscle lipid metabolism, and glucose homeostasis. PPARα influences intracellular lipid and carbohydrate metabolism through direct transcriptional control of genes involved in peroxisomal and mitochondrial β-oxidation pathways, FA uptake, and triglyceride (TG) catabolism. Moreover, preclinical data suggest a role for PPARα in body weight control, supporting the use of PPARα agonists to treat obesity (4). Mice deficient in PPARα exhibit a delayed response to inflammatory stimuli (5). Several clinical trials demonstrate the efficiency of fibrates at decreasing circulatory inflammatory markers and reducing the progression of coronary atherosclerotic lesions. The ability of PPARα to improve