The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor δ, an integrator of transcriptional repression and nuclear receptor signaling

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 PPARα and PPARγ have been studied extensively, the function of PPARδ remains the most elusive. Intriguingly, in cotransfection experiments, PPARδ is a potent inhibitor of ligand-induced transcriptional activity of PPARα and PPARγ. This inhibition is achieved, in part, by binding of PPARδ to a peroxisome proliferator response element and the association of nonliganded PPARδ 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 PPARδ inhibits the expression of endogenous PPARα target gene expression in 3T3-PPARα cells, whereas a PPARδ mutant that does not interact with the corepressor SMRT loses its ability to repress the induction of PPARα target gene. Similarly, stable expression of PPARδ in 3T3-PPARγ cells leads to inhibition of PPARγ target gene expression and PPARγ-mediated adipogenesis. Given the widespread expression of PPARδ and the restricted pattern for PPARα and PPARγ, these results suggest a role for PPARδ as a gateway receptor whose relative levels of expression can be used to modulate PPARα and PPARγ activity.