Pirinixic acids: flexible fatty acid mimetics with various biological activities.

Pirinixic acid is a typical fatty acid mimetic and was developed as synthetic antihyperlipidemic agent. While its target remained unknown in the early development, it has later been characterized as dual PPARα/γ agonist. Based on this activity, pirinixic acid has served as a lead compound for several structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies addressing diverse targets for lipid mimetics.