PPARγ Agonists in Adaptive Immunity: What Do Immune Disorders and Their Models Have to Tell Us?

Adaptive immunity has evolved as a very powerful and highly specialized tool of host defense. Its classical protagonists are lymphocytes of the T- and B-cell lineage. Cytokines and chemokines play a key role as effector mechanisms of the adaptive immunity. Some autoimmune and inflammatory diseases are caused by disturbance of the adaptive immune system. Recent advances in understanding the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases have led to research on new molecular and therapeutic targets. PPAR gamma are members of the nuclear receptor superfamily and are transcription factors involved in lipid metabolism as well as innate and adaptive immunity. PPAR gamma is activated by synthetic and endogenous ligands. Previous studies have shown that PPAR agonists regulate T-cell survival, activation and T helper cell differentiation into effector subsets: Th1, Th2, Th17, and Tregs. PPAR gamma has also been associated with B cells. The present review addresses these issues by placing PPAR gamma agonists in the context of adaptive immune responses and the relation of the activation of these receptors with the expression of cytokines involved in adaptive immunity.