PPAR-alpha cloning, expression, and characterization.

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα) is a member of the nuclear/steroid receptor gene superfamily that also comprises β, δ, and γ isoforms. PPARα is a ligand-activated transcription factor that plays an important role in the regulation of many genes involved in key metabolic processes. Today, PPARα has been cloned from mammalian, marsupial, and a number of marine species and its expression has been found to be relatively tissue- and species-specific. Here, we describe the methods for cloning of PPARα genes by RT-PCR and RACE approaches and related protocols for studying the expression of cloned PPARα cDNAs in mammalian cell systems.