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A new retinoic acid receptor identified from a hepatocellular carcinoma

Nature volume 333, pages 669–672 (1988)Cite this article

Abstract

Processes as diverse as growth, vision and reproduction depend on the presence of vitamin A and its metabolites (retinoids), but the molecular mechanisms which govern these diverse actions remain unclear (for reviews see refs 1, 2). A crucial advance recently was the isolation of a specific nuclear receptor for retinoic acid3,4, one of the physiologically active vitamin A derivatives. This nuclear receptor is a member of the steroid/thyroid hormone receptor family. Our analysis of an uncharacterized member of this class of intracellular receptors, encoded by a complementary DNA clone from a human placental library, has led us to discover a second retinoic acid receptor. This new receptor is expressed at high levels in a number of epithelial-type tissues. The gene for the receptor was first identified in a hepatocellular carcinoma where it surrounds a site of integration of hepatitis B virus5. Activation by this virus may play a role in tumour development in liver cells, where it is normally not expressed.

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Author notes

  1. Doris Benbrook

    Present address: Imperial Cancer Research Fund, P.O. Box 123, Lincoln's Inn Field, London, WC2A 3PX, UK

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cancer Research Center, La Jolla Cancer Research Foundation, 10901 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, California, 92037, USA

    Doris Benbrook, Elisabeth Lernhardt & Magnus Pfahl

Authors
  1. Doris Benbrook
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  2. Elisabeth Lernhardt
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  3. Magnus Pfahl
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Benbrook, D., Lernhardt, E. & Pfahl, M. A new retinoic acid receptor identified from a hepatocellular carcinoma. Nature 333, 669–672 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1038/333669a0

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