Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 15, 2026

Vascular Balloon Injury and Intraluminal Administration in Rat Carotid Artery
Published on: December 23, 2014
Acyclic retinoid inhibits neointima formation through retinoic acid receptor beta-induced apoptosis
Nanae Kada1, Toru Suzuki, Kenichi Aizawa
1Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8655, Japan.
Objectives:
Acyclic retinoid (ACR) is a synthetic retinoid with a high safety profile that has been pursued with high expectations for therapeutic use in prevention (recurrence) and treatment of malignancies. With the objective of addressing the therapeutic potential in the cardiovasculature, namely neointima formation, effects of ACR on neointima formation and the involved mechanisms were investigated.
Methods And Results:
ACR was administered to cuff-injured mice which showed inhibition of neointima formation. Investigation of involved mechanisms at the cellular and molecular levels showed that ACR induces apoptosis of neointimal cells and this to be mediated by selective induction of retinoic-acid receptor beta (RARbeta) which shows growth inhibitory and proapoptotic effects on smooth muscle cells.
Conclusion:
We show that ACR inhibits neointima formation by inducing RARbeta which in turn inhibits cell growth and induces apoptosis. The retinoid, ACR, may be potentially exploitable for treatment and prevention of neointima formation.
Related Concept Videos
Acne Infection
Antihypertensive Drugs: Direct Renin Inhibitors
The Extrinsic Apoptotic Pathway
Inhibition of Cdk Activity
Heart Failure Drugs: Inhibitors of Renin-Angiotensin System
The Retinoblastoma Gene
The first-ever tumor suppressor gene called Rb was identified in retinoblastoma - a rare eye tumor in children. In inherited forms of the disease, a child inherits one defective copy of the Rb gene, which predisposes them to retinoblastoma. However,...

