Abstract: Peroxisome proliferator activated receptors ( PPARs), which includes PPARα, PPARδ and PPARγ, belong to the superfamily of nuclear hormone receptors. The expression of the three isoforms of PPARs in different tissues showed distinct specificities. PPARγ is present in the adipose tissue, heart, intestine, and immunocytes. It exerts important function in adipogenesis. PPARγ is found to have the antioxidant activity, which may be through the Nrf2 signaling pathway, endothelial NOS ( eNOS) expression, inducible NOS ( iNOS) expression and some other related signaling pathways. Radiation-induced oxidative stress is the predominant factor that leads to the damage at both the cellular level and systemic level. As PPARγ acts to protect from oxidative stress, it may serve as an effective radioprotective and radiotherapeutic target.

Key words: peroxisome proliferator activated receptor γ, antioxidant activity, radioprotection