Mode of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma activation by luteolin.
Puhl, A.C., Bernardes, A., Silveira, R.L., Yuan, J., Campos, J.L., Saidemberg, D.M., Palma, M.S., Cvoro, A., Ayers, S.D., Webb, P., Reinach, P.S., Skaf, M.S., Polikarpov, I.(2012) Mol Pharmacol 81: 788-799
- PubMed: 22391103 
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1124/mol.111.076216
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:  
3SZ1 - PubMed Abstract: 
The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor ¦Ã (PPAR¦Ã) is a target for treatment of type II diabetes and other conditions. PPAR¦Ã full agonists, such as thiazolidinediones (TZDs), are effective insulin sensitizers and anti-inflammatory agents, but their use is limited by adverse side effects. Luteolin is a flavonoid with anti-inflammatory actions that binds PPAR¦Ã but, unlike TZDs, does not promote adipocyte differentiation. However, previous reports suggested variously that luteolin is a PPAR¦Ã agonist or an antagonist. We show that luteolin exhibits weak partial agonist/antagonist activity in transfections, inhibits several PPAR¦Ã target genes in 3T3-L1 cells (LPL, ORL1, and CEBP¦Á) and PPAR¦Ã-dependent adipogenesis, but activates GLUT4 to a similar degree as rosiglitazone, implying gene-specific partial agonism. The crystal structure of the PPAR¦Ã ligand-binding domain (LBD) reveals that luteolin occupies a buried ligand-binding pocket (LBP) but binds an inactive PPAR¦Ã LBD conformer and occupies a space near the ¦Â-sheet region far from the activation helix (H12), consistent with partial agonist/antagonist actions. A single myristic acid molecule simultaneously binds the LBP, suggesting that luteolin may cooperate with other ligands to bind PPAR¦Ã, and molecular dynamics simulations show that luteolin and myristic acid cooperate to stabilize the ¦¸-loop among H2', H3, and the ¦Â-sheet region. It is noteworthy that luteolin strongly suppresses hypertonicity-induced release of the pro-inflammatory interleukin-8 from human corneal epithelial cells and reverses reductions in transepithelial electrical resistance. This effect is PPAR¦Ã-dependent. We propose that activities of luteolin are related to its singular binding mode, that anti-inflammatory activity does not require H12 stabilization, and that our structure can be useful in developing safe selective PPAR¦Ã modulators.
Organizational Affiliation: 
Instituto de F¨ªsica de S?o Carlos, Universidade de S?o Paulo, S?o Carlos, SP, Brazil.