PPARs (peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors) comprise a family of ligand-activated transcription factors that play a vital role in cellular processes such as cell differentiation and metabolism (Kersten et al., 2000; Bensinger and Tontonoz, 2008). They also are potent regulators of macrophage differentiation that, when activated, can attenuate pathology associated with various chronic neuroinflammatory diseases (Odegaard et al., 2008; Bouhlel et al., 2009; Chawla, 2010;). PPARs exist as three different isoforms, α, δ (also called β), and γ, and all are expressed by microglia, astrocytes, neurons and oligodendrocytes, albeit at different levels (Kliewer et al., 1994).
