Targeted Genetic Disruption of Peroxisome Proliferator–Activated Receptor-δ and Colonic Tumorigenesis

Peroxisome proliferator–activated receptor-delta (PPAR-δ) is overexpressed in human colon cancer, but its contribution to colonic tumorigenesis is controversial. We generated a mouse model in which PPAR-δ was genetically disrupted in colonic epithelial cells by targeted deletion of exon 4. Elimination of colon-specific PPAR-δ expression was confirmed by real-time reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction (real-time RT-PCR), immunoblotting, and activity assays. Mice with and without targeted PPAR-δ genetic disruption (10–11 mice per group) were tested for incidence of azoxymethane-induced colon tumors. The effects of targeted PPAR-δ deletion on vascular endothelial growth factor expression were determined by real-time RT-PCR. Targeted PPAR-δ genetic disruption inhibited colonic carcinogenesis: Mice with PPAR-δ(−/−) colons developed 98.5% fewer tumors than wild-type mice (PPAR-δ(−/−) vs wild-type, mean = 0.1 tumors per mouse vs 6.6 tumors per mouse, difference = 6.5 tumors per mouse, 95% confidence interval = 4.9 to 8.0 tumors per mouse, P < .001, two-sided test). Increased expression of vascular endothelial growth factor in colon tumors vs normal colon was suppressed by loss of PPAR-δ expression. These findings indicate that PPAR-δ has a crucial role in promoting colonic tumorigenesis.