Prognosis of advanced, unresectable pancreatic adenocarcinoma remains dismal and has not significantly improved over the past 20 years. In a broad panel of preclinical experimental settings we have therefore evaluated the effects of retinoids on human pancreatic carcinoma cells in vitro and in vivo. We found that retinoid treatment results in inhibition of growth, induction of cellular differen...

In vivo pathways of natural retinoid metabolism and elimination have not been well characterized in primary myeloid cells, even though retinoids and retinoid receptors have been strongly implicated in regulating myeloid maturation. With the use of a upstream activation sequence-GFP reporter transgene and retrovirally expressed Gal4-retinoic acid receptor α in primary mouse bone marrow cells, we...

The capacity to generate 11-cis retinal from retinoids arising naturally in the eye was examined in the retina of the bullfrog, Rana catesbeiana. Retinoids, co-suspended with phosphatidylcholine, were applied topically to the photoreceptor surface of the isolated retina after substantial bleaching of the native visual pigment. The increase in photoreceptor sensitivity associated with the format...

Vitamin A (retinol) is an essential vitamin in the daily functioning of human beings that helps regulate cellular differentiation [2] of epithelial tissue. Studies have shown that an excess of vitamin A can affect embryonic development and result in teratogenesis, or the production of birth defects [3] in a developing embryo. Excess intake of vitamin A and retinoids by pregnant women often resu...

either nutrients or drugs that delay or prevent the development of cancer. Hormonal manipulations have at least some efficacy for breast and prostate cancers and colorectal adenomas are decreased by cyclooxygenase inhibitors, although the effect of these drugs on colorectal cancer is not clear. There are no effective chemopreventive agents for lung cancer. Interestingly, Saccomanno, who pioneer...

Vitamin A (all-trans-retinol) is the parent compound of a family of natural and synthetic compounds, the retinoids. Retinoids regulate gene transcription in numerous cells and tissues by binding to nuclear retinoid receptor proteins, which act as transcription factors. Much of the research conducted on retinoid signalling in the nervous system has focussed on developmental effects in the embryo...

IMPORTANCE Ectropion is a complication of certain subtypes of ichthyosis and is often associated with substantial medical and cosmetic consequences. At present there is no standard of care for the treatment of ectropion in this population. Retinoids cause dyshesion and thinning of stratum corneum, thereby reducing hyperkeratosis that likely underlies ectropion in patients with ichthyosis. As su...

Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a difficult disease to treat. Although the pathogenesis of this inflammatory skin disease is largely unknown, the important role of the immune system has been demonstrated in both experimental and clinical studies. Clinicians are therefore increasingly prescribing systemic treatments with immunosuppressive agents, but the more traditionally used systemic retinoi...

Thromboxane (TX) A2 induces contraction and proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) via its specific membrane TX receptor (TXR), possibly leading to the progression of atherosclerosis. Retinoids, derivatives of vitamin A, have recently been shown to be anti-atherosclerotic in VSMCs. We therefore examined the effects of retinoids on TX-induced cell growth and TXR expression in VSMC...