Abstract
Retinoid regulates various biological phenomena, such as cell proliferation, differentiation, morphogenesis, immunity, and metabolism, by binding and activating two types of nuclear receptors, retinoic acid receptors (RARs) and retinoid X receptors (RXRs). Since the discovery of these nuclear receptors, various specific modulators for both RARs and RXRs have been developed. Among them, some RAR and RXR specific agonists including Am80 (tamibarotene), an RARα/ β-selective agonist are in clinical use. Based on the recent progress in the research on the retinoid functions, the potential clinical utilities of retinoids towards metabolic diseases, autoimmune diseases, and neurodegenerative diseases have been elucidated. Here, the development of synthetic retinoids in the last 30 years, and the future prospect of the retinoid therapy are overviewed.
