Fibroids are benign neoplasms of myometrial smooth muscle cells (SMC). Despite being the most common tumor in humans, their etiology is poorly understood. Recent microarray studies have demonstrated that multiple members of the retinoid pathway are differentially expressed between myometrium and fibroids. The aim of this present study was to investigate gene expression of members of the retinoi...

PURPOSE Phototransduction in cones is initiated by the bleaching of their visual pigment, which comprises a protein component-cone opsin-and a vitamin A derivative-11-cis retinal. Little is known about the source of 11-cis retinal for cones. In the current study, neural retina leucine zipper-deficient (Nrl(-/-)) and rod opsin (Rho(-/-))-deficient mice were used, two mouse models that have been ...

The transcription factor NFB is overexpressed or constitutively activated in many cancer cells, where it induces expression of antiapoptotic genes correlating with resistance to anticancer therapies. Small molecules that inhibit the NFB signaling pathway could therefore be used to induce apoptosis in NFB-overexpressing tumors and potentially serve as anticancer agents. We found that retinoid an...

Neurexins are cell adhesion molecules involved in synapse formation and synaptic regulation. Mutations in the neurexin genes are linked to a number of neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism. Here, we show that the Drosophila homolog of α-Neurexin is critical for fly visual function. Lack of Neurexin leads to significantly impaired visual function due to reduced rhodopsin levels. We show th...

The ability to store and distribute vitamin A inside the body is the main evolutionary adaptation that allows vertebrates to maintain retinoid functions during nutritional deficiencies and to acquire new metabolic pathways enabling light-independent production of 11-cis retinoids. These processes greatly depend on enzymes that esterify vitamin A as well as associated retinoid binding proteins. ...

Retinoids are natural and synthetic derivatives of retinol, otherwise known as vitamin A. Retinoids bind to several classes of proteins including retinoid-binding proteins and retinoid nuclear receptors leading to the activation of specific regulatory elements of DNA that are involved in regulating cell growth, differentiation, and apoptosis. Several clinical studies have examined the role of r...

A study was conducted to examine the inhibitory effect of acyclic retinoid (polyprenoic acid) on the secretion of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) in rats with chronic liver damage induced by CCl4. Oral administration of the compound brought about a significant reduction of serum AFP levels at the time when liver cirrhosis was formed. Acyclic retinoid also decreased the activities of serum aminotransfer...

The discovery in invertebrates of ciliary photoreceptor cells and ciliary (c)-opsins established that at least two of the three elements that characterize the vertebrate photoreceptor system were already present before vertebrate evolution. However, the origin of the third element, a series of biochemical reactions known as the "retinoid cycle," remained uncertain. To understand the evolution o...

Retinoids play a critical role in patterning, segmentation, and neurogenesis of the posterior hindbrain and it has been proposed that they act as a posteriorising signal during hindbrain development. Until now, direct evidence that endogenous retinoid signalling acts through a gradient to specify cell fates along the anteroposterior axis has been missing. Two recent studies tested the requireme...

Hepatoma is one of the most frequently occurring cancers worldwide. However, effective chemotherapeutic agents for this disease have not been developed. Acyclic retinoid, a novel synthetic retinoid, can reduce the incidence of postsurgical recurrence of hepatoma and improve the survival rate. OSI-461, a potent derivative of exisulind, can increase intracellular levels of cyclic GMP, which leads...