Nuclear receptor comes up often in conversation and rarely with the context attached. Here we lay out the basics in order, then work through the practical considerations.
Last reviewed on 2026-04-29. Where a claim depends on a specific study, the study is described rather than over-claimed.
Sporting authorities added GW501516 to prohibited lists after it appeared in athlete samples and online markets. The World Anti-Doping Agency classifies it as a hormone and metabolic modulator, and its use can lead to an anti-doping rule violation. Some early laboratory work suggested effects on fatty acid oxidation and endurance-related metabolism in animals, but those findings do not establish safe or effective use in people. Reports of adverse events in humans are scarce and often anecdotal, which complicates risk assessment.
Legal status varies by country. In some places, cardarine is controlled under medicines or psychoactive substances laws; in others, it may be sold with minimal oversight as a research chemical. Customs agencies have intercepted shipments, and several national health agencies have issued warnings about products marketed for bodybuilding or performance enhancement. The lack of a standardized pharmaceutical supply means identity, purity, and contamination levels can differ widely between samples. These factors make cardarine a regulatory and public health concern rather than a conventional prescription drug.
Anti-doping laboratories identify GW501516 and its metabolites using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Urine is the usual matrix, and detection can occur after the parent compound has cleared from blood. The exact detection window depends on dose, formulation, individual metabolism, and assay sensitivity. Because the compound is prohibited at all times, athletes are subject to testing in and out of competition. Analytical methods continue to improve as new metabolites and designer analogs are characterized.
GW501516 acts as a ligand for PPAR delta, a nuclear receptor that regulates transcription of genes involved in fatty acid oxidation and energy use. Activation of this receptor in skeletal muscle shifts metabolism toward fat burning in animal models. The compound does not burn fat directly; it changes gene expression over hours to days. Researchers study it to understand metabolic flexibility and exercise adaptation. Effects observed in rodents are not automatically expected in humans.
| Property | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| IUPAC name | {4-[({4-methyl-2-[4-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]-1,3-thiazol-5-yl}methyl)sulfanyl]phenoxy}acetic acid | Systematic name for GW501516 |
| CAS Registry Number | 317318-70-0 | Unique identifier for the parent compound |
| Molecular formula | C21H18F3NO3S2 | Includes carbon, hydrogen, fluorine, nitrogen, oxygen, and sulfur |
| Molecular weight | 453.5 g/mol | Approximate value for the neutral form |
| Appearance | White to off-white powder | Typical description for purified laboratory material |
PPARδ is a nuclear receptor that regulates gene expression related to fatty acid oxidation, glucose homeostasis, and mitochondrial function. GW501516 binds to this receptor with high affinity and activates downstream signaling in skeletal muscle and other tissues. Animal studies reported increased endurance and altered fuel preference, but human data remain limited and inconsistent. The precise relationship between receptor activation and observed physiological changes is still an area of active investigation. Researchers have also examined whether the compound affects inflammation or cell proliferation. No approved therapeutic indication exists for cardarine.
In laboratory settings, cardarine is studied as a tool compound for probing PPARδ biology. Published experiments often use cell cultures, rodent models, or isolated tissues. Some investigations focus on metabolic effects, while others assess potential risks such as carcinogenicity observed in long-term animal studies. Because human trials are sparse, most knowledge comes from preclinical work and adverse event reports. Scientific literature frequently notes the gap between animal findings and human outcomes. The compound is not a dietary supplement and is not intended for human consumption.
Laboratory handling focuses on identity, purity, and stability. Reference standards are typically stored cold and dry, protected from light, because solutions can degrade over time. Analytical checks may use high-performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection or mass spectrometry. Impurities and related substances can be separated chromatographically and compared with a known standard. Because cardarine is not an approved drug, compendial monographs are absent, and laboratories often rely on in-house methods. Reported purity varies among unregulated products and should not be assumed from a label.
GW501516 binds and activates PPARδ, a nuclear receptor that influences transcription of genes involved in fatty acid oxidation and energy use. Activation shifts some metabolic pathways in preclinical models, which is why the compound has been studied for lipid disorders and exercise-related endpoints. The exact downstream effects in humans are incompletely mapped. PPARδ is expressed in many tissues, including skeletal muscle, liver, and adipose tissue, so broad activation may have varied consequences. Researchers continue to examine how selective or partial activation might alter the balance between benefits and risks.
Detection of GW501516 in biological samples generally relies on liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry. Urine is a common matrix in anti-doping analysis, while blood or plasma may be used in research settings. Sample preparation can involve enzymatic hydrolysis, protein precipitation, or solid-phase extraction before instrumental analysis. Because the compound undergoes metabolism, assays may target the parent molecule, one or more metabolites, or both. Detection windows are not fixed; they depend on factors such as dose, route, individual metabolism, and assay sensitivity. Reference standards are required for accurate identification and quantification.
Handling and quality assessment of cardarine reference material follow general laboratory practices for poorly characterized compounds. It typically appears as a white to off-white powder and is sparingly soluble in water but soluble in organic solvents such as dimethyl sulfoxide and ethanol. Storage recommendations usually specify a cool, dry, dark place, with long-term storage at low temperature and desiccation. Purity may be checked by high-performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection, while identity is confirmed by mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance. No pharmacopeial monograph exists, so reported purity and stability depend on the supplier’s methods.
==== Yellow armbands ==== Following Adam Ramanauskas's personal battle with cancer, a "Clash for Cancer" match against Melbourne was launched in 2006. This was a joint venture between Essendon and the Cancer Council of Victoria to raise funds for the organisation. Despite a formal request to the AFL being denied, players wore yellow armbands for the match, which resulted in the club being fined $20,000. In 2007, the AFL agreed to allow yellow armbands to be incorporated into the left sleeve of the jumper. The 'Clash for Cancer' match against Melbourne has become an annual event, repeated in subsequent seasons, though in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2016, Hawthorn (twice), the Sydney Swans and Brisbane Lions were the opponents in those respective seasons instead of Melbourne. In 2009, the jumpers were auctioned along with yellow boots worn by some players during the match.
=== Drug testing in the workplace === Workplace drug testing has been widespread and controversial in the US since the late 1980s: there is no clear measure of its effectiveness in improving safety and productivity, and testing affects significantly more non-whites than whites. Testing is more prevalent in the US than elsewhere in the world. Most common is urine analysis for amphetamines, cocaine, marijuana, opioids and PCP; usually with no practical discrimination between the effects of the different drugs. Workplace testing rapidly gained popularity after the Reagan administration made it mandatory for federal workers, peaking in 1996, with 81% of companies reporting drug screening, up from 21% in 1987. In the 1980s, testing had been promoted to business as a way to reclaim what were said to be huge losses in productivity caused by drug use. Studies released in the 1990s refuted these claims; a 1994 report from the National Academy of Sciences, "Under the Influence? Drugs and the American Work Force", concluded that "the data... do not provide clear evidence of the deleterious effects of drugs other than alcohol on safety and other job performance indicators." By 2004, workplace testing was down to 62% of companies, in 2015, it was reported as below 50%. Drug use continues to be blamed for productivity losses, and testing remains common. In 2021, some companies began to reduce drug testing to improve hiring prospects in a tight labor market.
Ecotoxicology is the branch of science that deals with the nature, effects, and interactions of substances that are harmful to the environment such as microplastics and other biosphere harmful substances. Ecotoxicology is studied in pharmacokinetics due to the substances responsible for harming the environment such as pesticides can get into the bodies of living organisms. The health effects of these chemicals is thus subject to research and safety trials by government or international agencies such as the EPA or WHO. How long these chemicals stay in the body, the lethal dose and other factors are the main focus of Ecotoxicology.
Partial history indicators: These are time-temperature indicators that provide a visual indication of whether a product has been exposed to temperatures outside the recommended range during a specific portion of its life cycle. The critical temperature indicator is an example of PHI. This kind of indicator only reacts after a certain temperature is reached, usually picked to match the threshold that, if exceeded, may cause irreversible damage to the product. Full history indicators slowly change color, with its rate varying with the environment temperature (ideally in a way that matches the degradation behavior of the product it's protecting). FHIs are recommended over PHIs in monitoring seafood, because Clostridium botulinum grows at any temperature beyond 38 °F (3 °C), speeding up as it gets warmer. FHIs would be very hard to store and transport if they were already active before meeting the product. As a result, FHIs are sometimes shipped in an inactive configuration with some way to activate them only when needed.
is a constant dependent on the boundary constraints of the structure. This is one of the main failure mechanisms for freeze casted materials. From this, the maximum compressive stress that an anisotropic porous solid can maintain is given by
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
phytate), disease and metabolic disorders (e.g. environmental enteric dysfunction), the reproductive cycle, quantity of mineral in diet, chronic mineral deficiency, subject age and homeostatic mechanisms. When results from such studies are available for a mineral, they may serve as a basis for estimations of the human physiological and dietary requirements of the mineral. When tracer is administered with food for the purpose of observing mineral absorption and metabolism, it may be in the form of an intrinsic or extrinsic label. An intrinsic label is isotope that has been introduced into the food during its production, thus enriching the natural mineral content of the food, whereas extrinsic labeling refers to the addition of tracer isotope to the food during the study. Because it is a very time-consuming and expensive approach, intrinsic labeling is not routinely used. Studies comparing measurements of absorption using intrinsic and extrinsic labeling of various foods have generally demonstrated good agreement between the two labeling methods, supporting the hypothesis that extrinsic and natural minerals are handled similarly in the human gastrointestinal tract. Enrichment is quantified from the measurement of isotope ratios, the ratio of the tracer isotope to a reference isotope, by mass spectrometry. Multiple definitions and calculations of enrichment have been adopted by different researchers. Calculations of enrichment become more complex when multiple tracers are used simultaneously. Because enriched isotope preparations are never isotopically pure, i.e.
== Clinical significance == Chromosomal rearrangements and altered expression of this gene have been implicated in several neurological, neoplastic, and other types of diseases, including Alzheimer's disease, Down syndrome, epilepsy, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, schwannoma, melanoma, and type I diabetes mellitus. It has been suggested that the regulation of S100B by melittin has potential for the treatment of epilepsy.
doi:10.1038/s41443-022-00636-7. PMID 36307732. Rushton, J.Philippe; Bogaert, Anthony F (1987). "Race differences in sexual behavior: Testing an evolutionary hypothesis". Journal of Research in Personality. 21 (4): 529–51. doi:10.1016/0092-6566(87)90038-9. Sutherland, Ronald S; Kogan, Barry A; Baskin, Laurence S; Mevorach, Robert A; Conte, Felix; Kaplan, Selna L; Grumbach, Melvin M (1996). "The Effect of Prepubertal Androgen Exposure on Adult Penile Length". The Journal of Urology. 156 (2): 783–7, discussion 787. doi:10.1016/S0022-5347(01)65814-2. PMID 8683783.
== Production == In May 2025, it was announced that Andrés Baiz would be directing his English-language debut film, with Jamie Foxx in the lead role, who plays a coach hired to reconstitute the U.S. Olympic boxing team after the original team is killed in a tragic plane crash in 1980. In October, Malachi Beasley, Shea Whigham, Dan Perrault, Will Chase, Algee Smith, Jamir Cope, Mitchell Edwards, Al-Shabazz Jabateh, Tre McBride, Xavier Mills, Adrian Martinez, and Javier Bolaños rounded out the cast.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
No. Major drug regulators have not approved GW501516 for treating any medical condition. Products sold as cardarine are typically unapproved research chemicals or supplements, so their contents and safety are not assured.
It is prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency as a hormone and metabolic modulator. Athletes who test positive for GW501516 can face sanctions, including suspensions and loss of results.
Cardarine is a common or trade-style name, while GW501516 is the research code for the same chemical entity. Some sources also use Endurobol or GSK-516. The names refer to the same compound, not distinct drugs.
It binds to and activates PPAR delta, a nuclear receptor that controls expression of genes related to fatty acid oxidation. This mechanism can alter energy metabolism in animal models. It is not a direct stimulant or fat-burning enzyme.