9-cis Retinoic Acid

9-cis-Retinoic acid activates all isoforms of the retinoic acid receptor (RAR) (Ki = 0.5-27 nM) as well as retinoid X receptor (RXR) isoforms (Ki = 3.8-12 nM) (Umemiya et al.; Wong et al.). The ability of RAR to heterodimerize with RXR, and the latter to heterodimerize with other partners allows 9-cis-retinoic acid to evoke a wide range of effects (Dawson et al.; Kane).

DIFFERENTIATION

• Increases the number of neurons derived from rat neural stem cell cultures (Laeng et al.).
• Promotes oligodendrocyte precursor cell differentiation and myelination in cultured cells and mouse cerebellar slices (Huang et al.).
• Induces formation of pancreatic ducts, but not acini, in embryonic mouse pancreas grown in collagen gel (Kadison et al.; Kobayashi et al.).
• Enhances BMP9-induced osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal progenitor cells, in vitro and in vivo (Zhang et al.).
• Induces myogenic differentiation of C2C12 myoblast progenitor cells (Zhu et al.).

CANCER RESEARCH

• Inhibits proliferation of Epstein-Barr virus-infected lymphoblastoid cell lines (Pomponi et al.).
• Inhibits growth of cultured human gastric cancer cells (Naka et al.).
• Inhibits spontaneous proliferation and CD40-induced growth in primary mantle cell lymphoma cells (Guidoboni et al.).