Virtual Screening as a Technique for PPAR Modulator Discovery

Virtual screening (VS) is a discovery technique to identify novel compounds with therapeutic and preventive efficacy against disease. Our current focus is on the in silico screening and discovery of novel peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma (PPARgamma) agonists. It is well recognized that PPARgamma agonists have therapeutic applications as insulin sensitizers in type 2 diabetes or as anti-inflammatories. VS is a cost- and time-effective means for identifying small molecules that have therapeutic potential. Our long-term goal is to devise computational approaches for testing the PPARgamma-binding activity of extensive naturally occurring compound libraries prior to testing agonist activity using ligand-binding and reporter assays. This review summarizes the high potential for obtaining further fundamental understanding of PPARgamma biology and development of novel therapies for treating chronic inflammatory diseases through evolution and implementation of computational screening processes for immunotherapeutics in conjunction with experimental methods for calibration and validation of results.