Phosphorylation of PPARs: from molecular characterization to physiological relevance

In addition to their ligand-mediated activation, nuclear receptor activity is finely tuned by their phosphorylation status. PPARs are phosphorylated by several kinases (PKA, PKC, MAPKs, and AMPK), which affect their activity in a ligand-dependent or -independent manner according to the isoform and cellular context. Molecular consequences are multiple, including changes in ligand affinity, DNA binding, recruitment of transcriptional cofactors, proteasome degradation… Finally, the physiological relevance of PPAR phosphorylation is discussed.