Design and synthesis of 2-methyl-2-[4-(2-[5-methyl-2-aryloxazol-4-yl]ethoxy)phenoxy]propionic acids: a new class of dual PPARalpha/gamma agonists.

Propionic acid derivative 8, which was designed and synthesized based on putative pharmacophores of known PPARγ- and PPARα-selective compounds, exhibits potent dual PPARα/γ agonist activity as demonstrated by in vitro binding and dose overlap in the newly introduced EOB mouse model for glucose lowering and lipid/cholesterol homeostasis.