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The Role and Epigenetic Modification of the Retinoic Acid Receptor

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Handbook of Nutrition, Diet, and Epigenetics

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Abstract

Dietary vitamin A is converted to retinoids, including retinal, retinol, and retinoic acid, in the metabolic pathway. Two types of retinoic acid exist in the cell nucleus along with two types of receptor, the retinoic acid receptor (RAR) and retinoic X receptor (RXR) each of which has three subtypes, α, β, and γ. Retinoic acid receptors are involved in a wide variety of functions including mediating cell differentiation, tissue growth, blood vessel formation, the emotional and cognitive functions, and tumor suppression.

RARβ, a tumor suppressor gene, is epigenetically suppressed in most cancers. Epigenetic modification of RAR in many cancers includes DNA methylation and histone hypoacetylation. Histone deacetylase inhibitor and RA restore RAR expression and have shown a strong antitumor effect. The epigenetic modification of RAR could have clinical applications such as in diagnosing malignancies.

In the future, as many other types of epigenetic modifications become better understood, we can expect their diagnostic and therapeutic applications to be greatly expanded.

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Abbreviations

ATRA:

All-trans retinoic acid

CRA:

9-cis-retinoic acid

HDAC:

Histone deacetylase

RA:

Retinoic acid

RAR:

Retinoic acid receptor

RARE:

Receptor responsive element

RXR:

Retinoic X receptor

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Dermatology, Tokyo Medical University Hachioji Medical Center, Tokyo, Japan

    Yukihiko Kato

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  1. Yukihiko Kato
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Correspondence to Yukihiko Kato .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Life Sciences, University of Westminster, London, UK

    Vinood B. Patel

  2. Diabetes and Nutritional Sciences Research Division, Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine, King’s College London, London, UK

    Victor R. Preedy

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Kato, Y. (2019). The Role and Epigenetic Modification of the Retinoic Acid Receptor. In: Patel, V., Preedy, V. (eds) Handbook of Nutrition, Diet, and Epigenetics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55530-0_114

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55530-0_114

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-55529-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-55530-0

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