Retinoic acid receptor antagonism in vivo expands the numbers of precursor cells during granulopoiesis

Abstract

The role/s of retinoids in granulopoiesis has been recognised for many years, being powerful differentiation inducers. The physiological role/s of retinoic acid receptor (RAR)-mediated signalling during adult haemopoiesis has by contrast proved more elusive. The recent generation of highly specific pan-RAR antagonists has now made possible an assessment of the specific physiological role/s of RAR signalling, allowing the separation for the first time of the RAR and RXR pathways. Mice were treated with AGN194310, a synthetic retinoid that antagonises the physiological function of the three RAR isotypes (α, β, γ) but does not interact with RXRs. Analyses of the granulocytic lineage using Gr-1,..