title: Retinoic acid signaling in cancer: The parable of acute promyelocytic leukemia.
abstract: Inevitably fatal some 40 years, acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) can now be cured in more than 95% of cases. This clinical success story is tightly linked to tremendous progress in our understanding of retinoic acid (RA) signaling. The discovery of retinoic acid receptor alpha (RARA) was followed by the cloning of the chromosomal translocations driving APL, all of which involve RARA. Since then, new findings on the biology of nuclear receptors have progressively enlightened the basis for the clinical efficacy of RA in APL. Reciprocally, the disease offered a range of angles to approach the cellular and molecular mechanisms of RA action. This virtuous circle contributed to make APL one of the best-understood cancers from both clinical and biological standpoints. Yet, some important questions remain unanswered including how lessons learnt from RA-triggered APL cure can help design new therapies for other malignancies.
authors.affiliation: Université Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Hôpital St. Louis, Paris Cedex 10, France; INSERM U 944, Equipe labellisée par la Ligue Nationale contre le Cancer, Institut Universitaire d'Hématologie, Hôpital St. Louis, Paris Cedex 10, France; CNRS UMR 7212, Hôpital St. Louis, Paris Cedex 10, France.
authors.forename: Julien
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ablain
authors.forename: Hugues
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: de Thé
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D015473:Leukemia, Promyelocytic, Acute / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000628:therapy*; D015398:Signal Transduction; D014212:Tretinoin / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D014212:Tretinoin
keywords: degradation; differentiation; leukemia; retinoic acid