Developmental Patterns of Hepatic Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor (PPAR) Expression in Xenopus laevis and Response to Pharmaceutical Agonists During Metamorphic Climax.
Unraveling the dynamic dance of PPAR expression in Xenopus laevis: a potential window of vulnerability to endocrine disruption during metamorphosis, with implications for using this model to study PPAR-mediated effects of chemicals.
This study investigated the developmental patterns of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) expression in the African clawed frog, Xenopus laevis, and the response to pharmaceutical PPAR agonists during metamorphic climax. The researchers found that the expression of xPPARα and xPPARγ peaked during late premetamorphosis, prometamorphosis, and metamorphic climax, suggesting a critical role in coordinating energy flux during this developmental transition. While the PPAR agonists did not elicit the expected gene expression changes, one compound (pirinixic acid) decreased female body condition, highlighting a potential period of susceptibility to PPAR-mediated effects. These findings suggest that Xenopus may not be the most sensitive model for studying PPAR-mediated effects of xenobiotics, but the dynamic PPAR expression patterns during metamorphosis warrant further investigation into the role of these nuclear receptors in amphibian development and the potential for endocrine disruption.