Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30410666›Full record

ArticleOncotarget2018

The anti-cancer effect of retinoic acid signaling in CRC occurs via decreased growth of ALDH+ colon cancer stem cells and increased differentiation of stem cells.

Shirin R Modarai, Anindita Gupta, Lynn M Opdenaker, Ryan Kowash, Gabriel Masters, Vignesh Viswanathan, Tao Zhang, Jeremy Z Fields, Bruce M Boman

Open access · diamondAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Oncotarget, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 34 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
34citing papers in PubMed
2.0field-weighted citation impact, top 10% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

34 citing papers in PubMed, 45 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Retinoic acid in health and disease.Signal transduction and targeted therapy · 2026
    Review
  3. Article
  4. Review
  5. Review
  6. Review
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Mechanisms and Strategies to Overcome Drug Resistance in Colorectal Cancer.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025
    Review
  10. Review
  11. The Significance of Aldehyde Dehydrogenase 1 in Cancers.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024
    Review
  12. Review
  13. Cancers · 2024
    Article
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Shirin R ModaraiDepartment of Biological Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA.
Anindita GuptaDepartment of Biological Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA.
Lynn M OpdenakerDepartment of Biological Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA.
Ryan KowashCenter for Translational Cancer Research, Helen F. Graham Cancer Center and Research Institute, Christiana Care Health System, Newark, DE, USA.
Gabriel MastersCenter for Translational Cancer Research, Helen F. Graham Cancer Center and Research Institute, Christiana Care Health System, Newark, DE, USA.
Vignesh ViswanathanDepartment of Biological Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA.
Tao ZhangDepartment of Biological Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA.
Jeremy Z FieldsCancer Research, CATX Inc., Gladwyne, PA, USA.
Bruce M BomanDepartment of Biological Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA.
University of Delaware · USChristiana Care Health System · USHamilton College · US

Funding

Predictive Modeling & Optimal Control Framework for Model-Based Epidemic Response in DelawareP20GM103446 · NIGMS · UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE · PI Anjana Narayan Bhat · 2012 to 2026
$67.2M
NIGMS NIH HHS P20 GM103446
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundTumorigenesis is driven by stem cell (SC) overpopulation. Because ALDH is both a marker for SCs in many tissues and a key enzyme in retinoid acid (RA) signaling, we studied RA signaling in normal and malignant colonic SCs. HYPOTHESIS: RA signaling regulates growth and differentiation of ALDH+ colonic SCs; dysregulation of RA signaling contributes to SC overpopulation and colorectal cancer (CRC) development.

methodsWe analyzed normal and malignant colonic tissues and CRC cell lines to see if retinoid receptors (RXR & RAR) are exclusively expressed in ALDH+ SCs, and if RA signaling changes during CRC development. We determined whether RA signaling regulates cancer SC (CSC) proliferation, differentiation, sphere formation, and population size.

resultsRXR & RAR were expressed in ALDH+ colonic SCs, but not in MCM2+ proliferative cells. Western blotting/immunostaining of CRCs revealed that RA signaling components become overexpressed in parallel with ALDH overexpression, which coincides with the known overpopulation of ALDH+ SCs that occurs during, and drives, CRC development. Treatment of SCs with all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) decreased proliferation, sphere formation and ALDH+ SC population size, and induced differentiation along the neuroendocrine cell (NEC) lineage.

conclusionsRetinoid signaling, by regulating ALDH+ colonic CSCs, decreases SC proliferation, sphere formation, and population size, and increases SC differentiation to NECs. Dysregulation of RA signaling in colonic SCs likely contributes to overpopulation of ALDH+ SCs and CRC growth. IMPLICATIONS: That retinoid receptors RXR and RAR are selectively expressed in ALDH+ SCs indicates RA signaling mainly occurs via ALDH+ SCs, which provides a mechanism to selectively target CSCs.

Indexed as

ALDHcolorectal cancerneuroendocrine cellretinoic acidstem cell

Identifiers

PMID30410666
PMCPMC6205182
OpenAlexW2895180025

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.