Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-β as a target for wound healing drugs

Healing of cutaneous wounds, which is crucial for survival after an injury, proceeds via a well-tuned pattern of events including inflammation, re-epithelialisation, and matrix and tissue remodelling. These events are regulated spatio-temporally by a variety of growth factors and cytokines. The inflammation that immediately follows injury increases the expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-β in the wound edge keratinocytes and triggers the production of endogenous PPARβ ligands that activate the newly produced receptor. This elevated PPARβ activity results in increased resistance of the keratinocytes to the apoptotic signals released during wounding, allowing faster re-epithelialisation. The authors speculate that, in parallel, ligand activation of PPARβ in infiltrated macrophages attenuates the inflammatory response, which also promotes repair. Thus, current understanding of the roles of PPARβ in different cell types implicated in tissue repair has revealed an intriguing intercellular cross-talk that coordinates, spatially and temporally, inflammation, keratinocyte survival, proliferation and migration, which are all essential for efficient wound repair. These novel insights into the orchestrating roles of PPARβ during wound healing may be helpful in the development of drugs for acute and chronic wound disorders.