Details zur Publikation

Kategorie Textpublikation
Referenztyp Zeitschriften
DOI 10.1016/j.cmet.2025.12.018
Lizenz creative commons licence
Titel (primär) Bempedoic acid directly binds and activates PPARα
Autor Papa, C.; Rose, A.; Martin, H.N.G.; Useini, A.; Geier, F.; Liao, L.; Rodríguez-Aguilera, J.R.; Valina-Allo, P.; Hoffmann, A.; Tvardovskiy, A.; Zulfqar, F.; Zimmerman, A.; Schicht, G.; Ott, F.; Körner, C.; Engelmann, B.; Rolle-Kampczyk, U. ORCID logo ; von Bergen, M.; Meier, M.; BartkeT., ; Seehofer, D.; Klöting, N.; Matz-Soja, M.; Damm, G.; Boeckel, J.-N.; Buescher, J.-M.; Blüher, M.; Laufs, U.; Bondareva, O.; Sträter, N.; Künze, G.; Heiker, J.T.; Sheikh, B.N.
Quelle Cell Metabolism
Erscheinungsjahr 2026
Department iDiv; MOLTOX
Band/Volume 38
Heft 4
Seite von 824
Seite bis 830.e5
Sprache englisch
Topic T9 Healthy Planet
Supplements Supplement 1
Supplement 2
Supplement 3
Keywords cholesterol; PPAR; lipids; metabolism; cardiovascular; transcription
Abstract Bempedoic acid (BA) is a recently approved drug that lowers cholesterol and hepatic lipids, yet its mechanism of action remains incompletely understood. Here, we combine transcriptomic, biochemical, and structural approaches to show that BA directly binds to and activates peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha (PPARα). BA treatment robustly induced PPARα signaling and fatty acid oxidation in primary hepatocytes and mouse liver. Through X-ray crystallography, we uncovered that BA binds to the ligand-binding domain of PPARα and stabilizes its active conformation. BA activated PPARα target genes independently of very-long-chain acyl-coenzyme A (CoA) synthetase (ACSVL1), the liver-enriched enzyme that converts BA to its bempedoyl-CoA form. Notably, BA-mediated induction of fatty acid oxidation required PPARα. Together, this work reveals direct PPARα activation as a key mechanism of BA action, providing a molecular basis for its lipid-lowering effects and suggesting broader therapeutic potential beyond the liver.
Papa, C., Rose, A., Martin, H.N.G., Useini, A., Geier, F., Liao, L., Rodríguez-Aguilera, J.R., Valina-Allo, P., Hoffmann, A., Tvardovskiy, A., Zulfqar, F., Zimmerman, A., Schicht, G., Ott, F., Körner, C., Engelmann, B., Rolle-Kampczyk, U., von Bergen, M., Meier, M., BartkeT., , Seehofer, D., Klöting, N., Matz-Soja, M., Damm, G., Boeckel, J.-N., Buescher, J.-M., Blüher, M., Laufs, U., Bondareva, O., Sträter, N., Künze, G., Heiker, J.T., Sheikh, B.N. (2026):
Bempedoic acid directly binds and activates PPARα
Cell Metab. 38 (4), 824 - 830.e5
10.1016/j.cmet.2025.12.018