The metabolic syndrome: relationship between insulin sensitivity and the role of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) in saccharide and lipid metabolism.

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) are subgroups of nuclear hormonal receptors of transcripting factors mostly found in adipose tissue. They are described as important regulators of lipid and saccharide metabolism including insulin sensitivity; therefore they are taken as marker of metabolic syndrome. Their synthetic ligands could be used as drugs for insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes mellitus.