Dosing PPARγ Activation With Light Using Fast Relaxing Photoswitches
Loris Knümann, Alba Rodriguez‐Paniagua, Martin Reynders, Silke Duensing‐Kropp, Oliver Thorn‐Seshold, Vasily Morozov, Julian A. Marschner, Daniel MerkABSTRACT
The transcription factor PPARγ regulates glucose and lipid homeostasis, and its activation, e.g., with glitazones, has antidiabetic, insulin‐sensitizing activity, but also adverse effects which possibly arise from overstimulation. Here we developed a novel high‐precision tool to enable light‐dosed PPARγ activation. Structure‐guided incorporation of a photoswitchable diazene motif into a PPARγ ligand and molecular fine‐tuning provided potent, light‐activated PPARγ agonists with millisecond to multiple‐hour half‐lives, suitable for biological research applications. Phenotypic effects of light‐dosed PPARγ activation in an in vitro model of adipogenesis suggested time‐dependent importance of the receptor in adipocyte development and illustrated the unprecedented precision of controlling PPARγ activity with light‐activated chemical tools.