The three PPAR (peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor) isoforms are critical regulators of lipid homeostasis by controlling the balance between the burning and storage of long chain fatty acids. Whereas PPAR␣ and PPAR␥ have been studied extensively, the function of PPAR␦ remains the most elusive. Intriguingly, in cotransfection experiments, PPAR␦ is a potent inhibitor of ligandinduced transcriptional activity of PPAR␣ and PPAR␥. This inhibition is achieved, in part, by binding of PPAR␦ to a peroxisome proliferator response element and the association of nonliganded PPAR␦ with corepressors SMRT (silencing mediator for retinoid and thyroid hormone receptors), SHARP (SMRT and histone deacetylase-associated repressor protein), and class I histone deacetylases. Stable expression of PPAR␦ inhibits the expression of endogenous PPAR␣ target gene expression in 3T3-PPAR␣ cells, whereas a PPAR␦ mutant that does not interact with the corepressor SMRT loses its ability to repress the induction of PPAR␣ target gene. Similarly, stable expression of PPAR␦ in 3T3-PPAR␥ cells leads to inhibition of PPAR␥ target gene expression and PPAR␥-mediated adipogenesis. Given the widespread expression of PPAR␦ and the restricted pattern for PPAR␣ and PPAR␥, these results suggest a role for PPAR␦ as a gateway receptor whose relative levels of expression can be used to modulate PPAR␣ and PPAR␥ activity.T he PPAR subfamily includes three isoforms (␣, ␥, and ␦) that all bind to the peroxisome proliferator response elements (PPRE) as a heterodimer with retinoid X receptor (RXR), yet exhibit distinct tissue distribution and physiological function. PPAR␣ is highly expressed in the liver and was originally identified as a molecule that mediates the transcriptional effects of drugs that induce peroxisome proliferation in rodents (1). In addition to its activation in response to peroxisome proliferators such as Wy14,643, PPAR␣ is also activated by a variety of medium-and long-chain fatty acids (2) and has been shown to stimulate lipid metabolism by the induction of peroxisomal -oxidation and fatty acid -hydroxylation (3). Mice lacking functional PPAR␣ are incapable of responding to peroxisome proliferators and fail to induce expression of a variety of genes required for the metabolism of fatty acids, including acyl-CoA oxidase (AOX) (4).PPAR␥ is highly enriched in adipose tissue and has been shown to play a central role in activating adipogenesis both in vitro and in vivo (5, 6). It is also expressed at high levels in lipid-accumulating macrophages and plays a role in the development of the atherogenic lesion (7). PPAR␥ has been shown to be activated by 15-deoxy-(12,14)-prostaglandin J2 (15d-PGJ2) or its synthetic analog thiazolidinedione, a novel class of antidiabetic drugs (8, 9). The PPAR␥-null mice are embryonic lethal due in part to disrupted placental function (6). Rescue of the placental defect results in lipid dystrophy and neonatal death (10,11).PPAR␦ (also known as PPAR) is widely expressed with relatively higher levels in brain, col...