N-acyl nitrogen heterocyles as ligands of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors

A compound of the formula

• wherein L is a radical selected from the group consisting of:
• and
• in which
• R1 is hydrogen, optionally substituted alkyl, aryl, heteroaryl, aralkyl or cycloalkyl;
• R2 is hydrogen, hydroxy, oxo, optionally substituted alkyl, aryl, aralkyl, alkoxy, aryloxy, aralkoxy, alkylthio, arylthio or aralkylthio;
• R3 is hydrogen;
• or
• R2 and R3 combined are alkylene which together with the carbon atoms to which they are attached form a fused 5- to 7-membered ring;
• or
• R2 and R3combined are a bond between the carbon atoms to which they are attached;
• n is zero or an integer of 1 or 2;
• Ya is hydrogen;
• or
• Ya and R2 combined are a bond between the carbon atoms to which they are attached;
• R4a is hydrogen;
• or
• R4a and Ya combined are a bond between the carbon atoms to which they are attached;
• R″ is hydrogen, optionally substituted alkyl, alkoxy or halogen;
• m is an integer of 1 or 2;
• Yb is hydrogen;
• R4b is hydrogen;
• or
• R4b and Yb combined are a bond between the carbon atoms to which they are attached;
• R and R′ are independently hydrogen, halogen, optionally substituted alkyl, alkoxy, aralkyl or heteroaralkyl;
• or
• R and R′ combined together with the carbon atoms to which they are attached form an optionally substituted fused 5- to 6-membered aromatic or heteroaromatic ring provided that R and R′ are attached to carbon atoms adjacent to each other;
• or
• R—C and R′—C may independently be replaced by nitrogen;
• X1 is -Z-(CH2)p-Q-W wherein
• Z is a bond, O, S, S(O) or S(O)2;
• or
• Z is —C(O)NR5 — in which
• R5 is hydrogen, alkyl or aralkyl;
• p is an integer from 1 to 8;
• Q is a bond;
• or
• Q is —O(CH2)r— or —S(CH2)r— in which
• r is zero or an integer from 1 to 8;
• or
• Q is —O(CH2)1-8O—, —S(CH2)1-8O—, —S(CH2)1-8S— or —C(O)—;
• or
• Q is —C(O)NR6— in which
• R6 is hydrogen, optionally substituted alkyl, cycloalkyl, aryl, heteroaryl, aralkyl or heteroaralkyl;
• or
• Q is —NR7—, —NR7C(O)—, —NR7C(O)NR8— or —NR7C(O)O— in which
• R7 is hydrogen, optionally substituted alkyl, cycloalkyl, aryl, heteroaryl, aralkyl or heteroaralkyl;
• R8 is hydrogen, alkyl or aralkyl;
• W is cycloalkyl, aryl, heterocyclyl, aralkyl or heteroaralkyl;
• or
• W and R6 taken together with the nitrogen atom to which they are attached form a 8- to 12-membered bicyclic ring, which may be optionally substituted or may contain another heteroatom selected from oxygen, nitrogen and sulfur;
• X2 is —C(R9)2—, O, S or —NR10— in which
• R9 is hydrogen or lower alkyl;
• R10 is hydrogen, alkyl or aralkyl;
• provided that W is not 2-methylquinolin-4-yl when Z is O, p is 1, Q is a bond, X2 is —C(R9)2— in which R9 is hydrogen, and X1 is located at the 4-position;
• or W is not 2-butyl-4-chloro-5-hydroxymethylimidazol-1-yl when Z is a bond, p is 1, Q is a bond, X2 is —NR10— in which R10 is hydrogen, and X1 is located at the 4-position;
• or an optical isomer thereof;
• or a mixture of optical isomers thereof;
• or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.