Dominant-negative and knockdown approaches to studying PPAR activity

Manipulation of PPAR activity is often a valuable approach toward elucidation of the cellular effects of PPARs. The activity of specific PPARs can be decreased using chemical inhibitors, but these approaches can be affected by nonspecific interactions or cell toxicity. Alternative approaches include targeting PPAR gene expression or activity through molecular biology strategies. Here, we describe the targeting of PPARγ through dominant-negative and siRNA-mediated knockdown constructs.