Problems and prospects of PPAR dual/pan agonists

Peroxisome proliferator activated receptors(PPARs) are ligand-activated transcription factors of nuclear hormone receptor superfamily.Current specifically targeted PPARγ therapeutic strategies available for the treatment of diabetes do not inhibit the associated secondary cardiovascular complications.PPARα/γ dual agonists might be used to solve the above problem,and are under clinical trials.However,PPARα/γ dual agonists have been noted to produce several unexpected side effects,which raised number of questions about the clinical applications of dual agonists.The present review critically analyzes the problems and prospects of PPAR dual/pan agonists in diabetic cardiovascular complications.