Peroxisomes in lipid metabolism.

Gene targeting and the elucidation of mutations underlying inherited peroxisomal diseases have provided new insights in peroxisomal lipid metabolism in vivo. The work led to the identification of a novel peroxisomal beta-oxidation pathway and established clearly that genes, which are required for efficient peroxisomal oxidation of fatty acids, at the same time are key regulators of PPAR alpha function in vivo. The new mouse models may provide helpful tools in the search for unknown natural PPAR alpha agonists and in screening for in vivo PPAR alpha antagonists.