title: Pharmacological doses of some synthetic retinoids can modulate both the aryl hydrocarbon receptor and retinoid receptor pathways.
abstract: Retinoids have been demonstrated to have pharmacological application in the areas of dermatology and oncology. In addition to the natural retinoids such as all-trans-retinoic acid and 9-cis-retinoic acid, many new potential retinoid drugs have been synthesized, including retinoic acid receptor (RAR)-subtype selective agonists, retinoid X receptor (RXR)-selective agonists, RAR-selective antagonists, anti-AP1-specific retinoids and retinoids that induce apoptosis. Recent studies demonstrate that some retinoids, in addition to modulating the RAR/RXR pathway, are also capable at pharmacological concentrations of binding to aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) and activating the AhR/AhR nuclear translocator pathway. Future studies are necessary to ascertain the consequences, if any, of activation of the AhR signaling pathway by pharmacological doses of specific retinoids.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Fels Institute for Cancer Research and Molecular Biology, Temple University School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19140, USA. dsoprano@nimbus.temple.edu
authors.forename: Dianne Robert
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Soprano
authors.forename: Kenneth J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Soprano
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D018336:Receptors, Aryl Hydrocarbon / Q000187:drug effects*; D018168:Receptors, Retinoic Acid / Q000187:drug effects*; D012176:Retinoids / Q000494:pharmacology*; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship
chemical_list: D018336:Receptors, Aryl Hydrocarbon; D018168:Receptors, Retinoic Acid; D012176:Retinoids