Biological Effects of Bexarotene in Cutaneous T-Cell Lymphoma

Bexarotene activates the p53/p73 pathway in human cutaneous T-cell lymphoma

“…This study focused on elucidating the antineoplastic signalling pathways of bexarotene, providing insights into the best use of bexarotene to achieve clinical benefits. Contrary to the general belief that apoptosis is an important mechanistic action of bexarotene in CTCL, 6,7 our data indicate that cell cycle arrest contributes to its antineoplastic role. We found that the proapoptotic protein Bax is upregulated and conformationally activated by bexarotene, although not enough to trigger strong apoptotic signalling.…”

Bexarotene blunts malignant T‐cell chemotaxis in Sezary syndrome: Reduction of chemokine receptor 4‐positive lymphocytes and decreased chemotaxis to thymus and activation‐regulated chemokine

“…Consistent with prior studies, bexarotene induced the apoptosis of CD4+CD26À among patient lymphocytes [12]. After treatment with bexarotene (10 mM), a reduction in CCR4 expression was noted among both Cy5-dUTP positive apoptotic cells and Cy5-dUTP negative (nonapoptotic) tumor cells, suggesting that bexarotene may promote the downregulation of CCR4 expression by the malignant population that is not undergoing apoptosis (see Fig.…”

Mycosis fungoides and sezary syndrome: An update

“…This observation was recently confirmed by Budgin et al [57], who further demonstrated that bexarotene inhibits IL-4 production but has no effect on IFN-γ expression. Furthermore, a subset of patients appeared to have malignant cells that were resistant to the proapoptotic effects of bexarotene for reasons that are currently unknown.…”