Cardarine (GW501516)
OTHERAlso known as: GW501516, Endurobol, GSX-R
What is Cardarine (GW501516)?
Cardarine (GW501516) is a PPAR delta agonist that was abandoned during drug development after causing cancer in animal studies at ALL tested doses. One of the most dangerous compounds still sold online.
Why is Cardarine (GW501516) Banned?
Cancer risk at ALL tested doses in animal models. Development abandoned by manufacturer due to unacceptable cancer risk. Never safe for human use.
Health Risks & Side Effects
Health Risk Level
This substance has a high risk of overdose and low addiction potential.
warningCommon Side Effects
- arrow_rightMultiple cancer types (animal studies)
- arrow_rightLiver toxicity
- arrow_rightBladder cancer risk
blockContraindications
- arrow_rightEveryone - not safe for human use
- arrow_rightAny cancer history
- arrow_rightLiver disease
How Does Cardarine (GW501516) Work?
Activates PPAR delta, increases fatty acid oxidation and endurance capacity. Also promotes cancer cell growth in multiple organ systems.
History
Developed by GlaxoSmithKline for metabolic diseases. Development abandoned after 2-year animal studies showed cancer at all doses. Still sold illegally online as 'research chemical'.
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Learn More
Research articles and educational resources
Overview
GW501516
GW501516 is a PPARδ receptor agonist that was invented in a collaboration between Ligand Pharmaceuticals and GlaxoSmithKline in the 1990s. It entered into clinical development as a drug candidate for metabolic and cardiovascular diseases, but was abandoned in 2007 because animal testing showed that the drug caused cancer to develop rapidly in several organs.
Scientific Research
From PubMed • 3 peer-reviewed studies
PPARβ/δ agonist GW501516 inhibits TNFα-induced repression of adiponectin and insulin receptor in 3T3-L1 adipocytes.
Previous reports have shown that PPARβ/δ agonists ameliorate insulin resistance associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). To determine the role of PPARβ/δ in tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα)-mediated insulin resistance, we investigated expression levels of adiponectin and insulin receptor (IR) in response to treatment with the PPARβ/δ agonist GW501516 with or without TNFα, a proinflammatory cytokine, in differentiated 3T3-L1 adipocytes. GW501516 induced adipocyte differentiation and the expression of adiponectin in a dose-dependent manner in differentiated adipocytes. TNFα treatment reduced adiponectin expression at the end of differentiation. This effect was reversed by GW501516 co-treatment with TNFα. TNFα treatment decreased adipogenic marker genes such as PPARγ, aP2, resistin, and GLUT4, and GW501516 reversed the effects of TNFα. GW501516 treatment increased the expression of insulin receptor and inhibited TNFα-mediated repression of insulin receptor. Our results showed that GW501516 abrogated TNFα-induced insulin resistance. In summary, our study demonstrated that the PPARβ/δ agonist, GW501516 reversed TNFα-induced decreases in adipocyte differentiation and adiponectin expression, and improved insulin sensitivity by increasing the expression of insulin receptor. Therefore, PPARδ may be a promising therapeutic target for treatment of insulin resistance in patients with T2DM.
New peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor agonists: potential treatments for atherogenic dyslipidemia and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
Novel peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) modulators (selective PPAR modulators [SPPARMs]) and dual PPAR agonists may have an important role in the treatment of cardiometabolic disorders owing to lipid-modifying, insulin-sensitizing and anti-inflammatory effects.
Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-beta/delta (PPARbeta/delta) ligands inhibit growth of UACC903 and MCF7 human cancer cell lines.
The development of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-beta/delta (PPARbeta/delta) ligands for the treatment of diseases including metabolic syndrome, diabetes and obesity has been hampered due to contradictory findings on their potential safety. For example, while some reports show that ligand activation of PPARbeta/delta promotes the induction of terminal differentiation and inhibition of cell growth, other reports suggest that PPARbeta/delta ligands potentiate tumorigenesis by increasing cell proliferation. Some of the contradictory findings could be due in part to differences in the ligand examined, the presence or absence of serum in cell cultures, differences in cell lines or differences in the method used to quantify cell growth. For these reasons, this study examined the effect of ligand activation of PPARbeta/delta on cell growth of two human cancer cell lines, MCF7 (breast cancer) and UACC903 (melanoma) in the presence or absence of serum using two highly specific PPARbeta/delta ligands, GW0742 or GW501516. Culturing cells in the presence of either GW0742 or GW501516 caused upregulation of the known PPARbeta/delta target gene angiopoietin-like protein 4 (ANGPTL4). Inhibition of cell growth was observed in both cell lines cultured in the presence of either GW0742 or GW501516, and the presence or absence of serum had little influence on this inhibition. Results from the present studies demonstrate that ligand activation of PPARbeta/delta inhibits the growth of both MCF7 and UACC903 cell lines and provide further evidence that PPARbeta/delta ligands are not mitogenic in human cancer cell lines.