PPARs and the Placenta

The discovery of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) in 1990s provided new insights in understanding the mechanisms involved in the control of energy homeostasis and in cell differentiation, proliferation, apoptosis and the inflammatory process. The PPARs became thus an exciting therapeutic target for diabetes, metabolic syndrome, atherosclerosis, and cancer. Unexpectedly, genetic studies performed in mice established that PPARγ are essential for placental development. After a brief description of structural and functional features of PPARs, we will summarize in this review the most recent results concerning expression and the role of PPARs in placenta and of PPARγ in human trophoblastic cells in particular.