doi:10.1155/2011/502631 Research Article Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor-α Activation Decreases Mean Arterial Pressure, Plasma Interleukin-6, and

which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-alpha (PPAR-α) activation by fenofibrate reduces blood pressure and sodium retention during DOCA-salt hypertension. PPAR-α activation reduces the expression of inflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin-6 (IL-6). Fenofibrate also induces cytochrome P450 4A (CYP4A) and increases 20-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (20-HETE) production. This study tested whether the administration of fenofibrate would reduce blood pressure by attenuating plasma IL-6 and renal expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), while increasing expression of renal CYP4A during 7 days of DOCA-salt hypertension. We performed uni-nephrectomy on 12–14 week old male Swiss Webster mice and implanted biotelemetry devices in control, DOCA-salt (1.5mg/g) treated mice with or without fenofibrate (500mg/kg/day in corn oil, intragastrically). Fenofibrate significantly decreased mean arterial pressure and plasma IL-6. In kidney homogenates, fenofibrate increased CYP4A and decreased COX-2 expression. There were no differences in renal cytochrome P450, family 2, subfamily c, polypeptide 23 (CYP2C23) and soluble expoxide hydrolase (sEH) expression between the groups. Our results suggest that the blood pressur