The Antidiabetic PPAR
Ligands: An Update on Compounds in Development
Authors: Leff T.; Reed J.E.
Source: Current Medicinal Chemistry - Immunology, Endocrine & Metabolic Agents, Volume 2, Number 1, March 2002 , pp. 33-47(17)
Publisher: Bentham Science Publishers
Abstract:
A novel class of antidiabetic agents, the thiazolidinediones, was developed in the 70s and 80s by screening newly synthesized compounds for their ability to lower blood glucose in diabetic rodents. Three molecules from this class, troglitazone, rosiglitazone and pioglitazone, were ultimately approved for the treatment of patients with type II diabetes. Although these compounds were developed without an understanding of their molecular mechanism of action, by the early 90s evidence began to accumulate linking the thiazolidinediones the nuclear receptor PPAR
(NR1C3). It was ultimately demonstrated that these molecules were high affinity ligands of PPAR
and that they increased the transcriptional activity of the receptor. Although many questions remain, multiple lines of evidence now indicate that the antidiabetic activities of the thiazolidinediones are mediated by their direct interaction with the receptor and the subsequent modulation of PPAR
target gene expression. The knowledge that PPAR
ligands can improve insulin resistance in diabetics, coupled with the availability of rapid assays for the identification and characterization of nuclear receptor ligands, has led to a virtual explosion in the number of new PPAR
ligands that are under development as antidiabetic agents. In this article we will briefly review the biology of PPAR
, and then provide an update of new synthetic PPAR
ligands that are under investigation or in development as antidiabetic drugs.
Keywords: antidiabetic; transcription; troglitazone; roziglitazone; pioglitazone; diabetes
Language: English
Document Type: Review article
DOI: 10.2174/1568013024606440

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