Vitamin A/retinoids signalling in the human lung

Stéphane Poulain (1) , Fanny Evenou (2) , Marie-Christiane Carré (2) , Serge Corbel (2) , Jean-Michel Vignaud (1) , Nadine Martinet (1)

1 Biologie Cellulaire et Moleculaire du Transport des Nutriments
2 DCPR - Département de Chimie Physique des Réactions

Vitamin A is used as a generic term for all vitamin A derivatives with retinol-like biological activity. Retinol is the main parent compound for vitamin A. It derives from carotenoids (provitamin A) and also directly from the pre-formed vitamin A contained in the diet. The term “retinoid” is a generic descriptor of compounds structurally related to vitamin A and the synthetic analogues of retinol with or without biological activity. Retinoic acid is the active cellular catabolite. Vitamin A/retinoids have been given cancer-preventive functions and subsequently used in clinical trials to reduce lung cancer incidence in high-risk individuals. The results obtained have been in contradiction with both in vivo and in vitro promising studies. It seems therefore necessary to develop a better understanding of the vitamin A/retinoids signalling pathways in the lung. With this aim, we summarise the relevant knowledge focussed on thelung.

Domaines: Chimie-Physique [physics.chem-ph]; Cancer

Stéphane Poulain, Fanny Evenou, Marie-Christiane Carré, Serge Corbel, Jean-Michel Vignaud, et al.. Vitamin A/retinoids signalling in the human lung. Lung Cancer, 2009, pp.DOI:10.1016/j.lungcan.2009.03.008. ⟨10.1016/j.lungcan.2009.03.008⟩. ⟨hal-00437898⟩