ArticlePloS one2016
Bilirubin Binding to PPARα Inhibits Lipid Accumulation.
Article in PloS one, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06336369 (BiliMetHealth- Energy Metabolism and Brown Adipose Tissue), which is not on this map. Cited by 141 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
BiliMetHealth- Energy Metabolism and Brown Adipose Tissue (BAT) Activity in Individuals With Gilbert's Syndrome (GS) and Healthy Controls
Who cites it
141 citing papers in PubMed, 180 citations in OpenAlex.
- Bilirubin reduces mortality in sepsis models by inhibiting NOX2-mediated formation of neutrophil extracellular traps.Redox report : communications in free radical research · 2026Article
- Bilirubin and the Yellow Players in Ferroptosis: A Delicate Balance in Human Health and Disease, with a Focus on the Liver, Cardiovascular System, and Brain.Biomolecules · 2026Review
- The association between obesity and telomere shortening is mediated through total bilirubin.Cardiovascular diabetology. Endocrinology reports · 2026Article
- Hypomorphic biliverdin reductase a mutations define bilirubin anti-malarial threshold.iScience · 2026Article
- GαMetabolites · 2026Article
- Transforming Toxicity into Therapy: Exploring Bilirubin's Benefits and Its Molecular Role in Cardiac Health and Disease.Biomolecules · 2026Review
- Adipose Tissue Aging and Natural Interventions: Potential Roles of Polyphenols and Polysaccharides.Nutrients · 2026Review
- Bilirubin Ameliorates Oleic and Palmitic Acid Accumulation in an In Vitro Model of MASLD.Physiological research · 2026Article
- Associations between serum total bilirubin levels and the prevalence of metabolic syndrome in elderly Chinese males.BMC geriatrics · 2026Article
- Leveraging polygenic risk scores to infer causal directions in genotype-by-environment interactions between complex traits.Human genetics · 2026Article
- Microbiome-derived cancer: the catabolism of bilirubin to urobilin in the liver-gut axis and its consequences.Gastroenterology report · 2026Review
- The HO-1/bilirubin axis in cardiovascular protection: critical evidence for modulation by plant metabolites and traditional multi-component formulations used in Chinese medicine.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2026Review
- A Cross-sectional Data Analysis between Serum Total Bilirubin and Potential Obesity Indices in US Adults.Current molecular medicine · 2026Article
- Association Between Adiposity and Low Total Serum Bilirubin Concentration: A Retrospective, Cross-Sectional Study.Health science reports · 2026Article
- Erythrocyte-microglia crosstalk contributing to sex differences in pediatric brain tumorigenesis.Research square · 2025Article
- Lactiplantibacillus plantarum P101 Alleviated Alcohol-Induced Hepatic Lipid Accumulation in Mice via AMPK Signaling Pathway: Gut Microbiota and Metabolomics Analysis.Probiotics and antimicrobial proteins · 2025Article
- Bilirubin Hepatic and Intestinal Transport and Catabolism: Physiology, Pathophysiology, and Benefits.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Article
- BLVRA promotes glioblastoma progression by regulating fatty acid metabolism.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- The physiology of MASLD: molecular pathways between liver and adipose tissues.Clinical science (London, England : 1979) · 2025Review
81 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Numerous clinical and population studies have demonstrated that increased serum bilirubin levels protect against cardiovascular and metabolic diseases such as obesity and diabetes. Bilirubin is a potent antioxidant, and the beneficial actions of moderate increases in plasma bilirubin have been thought to be due to the antioxidant effects of this bile pigment. In the present study, we found that bilirubin has a new function as a ligand for PPARα. We show that bilirubin can bind directly to PPARα and increase transcriptional activity. When we compared biliverdin, the precursor to bilirubin, on PPARα transcriptional activation to known PPARα ligands, WY 14,643 and fenofibrate, it showed that fenofibrate and biliverdin have similar activation properties. Treatment of 3T3-L1 adipocytes with biliverdin suppressed lipid accumulation and upregulated PPARα target genes. We treated wild-type and PPARα KO mice on a high fat diet with fenofibrate or bilirubin for seven days and found that both signal through PPARα dependent mechanisms. Furthermore, the effect of bilirubin on lowering glucose and reducing body fat percentage was blunted in PPARα KO mice. These data demonstrate a new function for bilirubin as an agonist of PPARα, which mediates the protection from adiposity afforded by moderate increases in bilirubin.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.