Discovery of Novel Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor α (PPARα) Agonists by Virtual Screening and Biological Evaluation

Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is one of the important causes of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma worldwide. PPARα is highly expressed in liver and plays a critical role in hepatic lipid metabolism. Our analysis of the gene expression profiles in the liver of humanized mice treated with a PPARα agonist and NASH patients suggested that PPARα might be a potential target for NASH therapy. This promoted us to find novel PPARα agonists. The results of virtual screening and biological evaluation identified compound A-4 as a selective PPARα agonist. It significantly regulated the target genes of PPARα involved in fatty acid metabolism and inflammation, exhibiting cellular anti-inflammatory activity. The key residues involved in the binding between PPARα ligand binding domain (LBD) and compound A-4 were revealed by molecular dynamics (MD) simulation and further experimentally validated by the mutation study. Together, compound A-4 was well characterized as a novel lead compound for developing potent a...