Department of Pharmacology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, New York 10065, USA.
Annu Rev Pathol. 2011;6:345-64. doi: 10.1146/annurev-pathol-011110-130303.
Retinoids (i.e., vitamin A, all-trans retinoic acid, and related signaling molecules) induce the differentiation of various types of stem cells. Nuclear retinoic acid receptors mediate most but not all of the effects of retinoids. Retinoid signaling is often compromised early in carcinogenesis, which suggests that a reduction in retinoid signaling may be required for tumor development. Retinoids interact with other signaling pathways, including estrogen signaling in breast cancer. Retinoids are used to treat cancer, in part because of their ability to induce differentiation and arrest proliferation. Delivery of retinoids to patients is challenging because of the rapid metabolism of some retinoids and because epigenetic changes can render cells retinoid resistant. Successful cancer therapy with retinoids is likely to require combination therapy with drugs that regulate the epigenome, such as DNA methyltransferase and histone deacetylase inhibitors, as well as classical chemotherapeutic agents. Thus, retinoid research benefits both cancer prevention and cancer treatment.
视黄酸（即维生素 A、全反式维甲酸和相关信号分子）可诱导多种类型的干细胞分化。核视黄酸受体介导视黄酸的大多数但不是全部作用。视黄酸信号在癌症发生的早期经常受到损害，这表明视黄酸信号的减少可能是肿瘤发展所必需的。视黄酸与其他信号通路相互作用，包括乳腺癌中的雌激素信号通路。视黄酸用于治疗癌症，部分原因是它们能够诱导分化和阻止增殖。由于一些视黄酸的快速代谢以及表观遗传变化可使细胞对视黄酸产生抗性，因此向患者递送视黄酸具有挑战性。视黄酸的成功癌症治疗可能需要与调节表观基因组的药物联合治疗，例如 DNA 甲基转移酶和组蛋白去乙酰化酶抑制剂，以及经典的化疗药物。因此，视黄酸研究既有益于癌症预防，也有益于癌症治疗。
