Physiological and pathological implications of retinoid action in the endometrium

Yanwen Jiang, Lu Chen, Robert N Taylor, Chunjin Li, Xu Zhou
The Journal of endocrinology · 2018 · vol. 236(3) , pp. R169–R188 · doi:10.1530/joe-17-0544 · PMID:29298821 · W2781887030
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⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-07 ⓘ

This review examines retinoid signaling's roles in normal endometrial development and function, and discusses its potential involvement in the pathology of endometriosis.

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⚙ AI-generated deep summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-07 ⓘ

This review synthesizes evidence on how vitamin A–derived retinoids, particularly retinoic acid, influence normal endometrial development, stromal decidualization, and blastocyst implantation, focusing on retinoid metabolism and signaling pathways, including regulation by ovarian steroid hormones. It highlights that components of the retinoid system—such as retinoic acid distribution, RA receptor expression, retinol/RA-binding proteins, and RA-synthesizing/catabolizing enzymes—are differentially regulated across the ovarian cycle and during implantation-related changes. The paper further discusses accumulating evidence that aberrant retinoid metabolism and signaling may contribute to endometriosis-related processes like reduced cell death, increased growth/migration, inflammation, and invasion, supported by findings from a mouse model where retinoic acid suppressed IL-6 and peritoneal implant establishment and vascularity. The authors explicitly state that a comprehensive, systematic understanding of the retinoid pathway in endometrial physiology and pathology remains lacking. This paper is centrally about endometriosis — it reviews how dysregulated retinoid action and metabolism may underlie endometriosis development and lesion behavior.

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Abstract

Retinol (vitamin A) and its derivatives, collectively known as retinoids, are required for maintaining vision, immunity, barrier function, reproduction, embryogenesis and cell proliferation and differentiation. Despite the fact that most events in the endometrium are predominantly regulated by steroid hormones (estrogens and progesterone), accumulating evidence shows that retinoid signaling is also involved in the development and maintenance of the endometrium, stromal decidualization and blastocyst implantation. Moreover, aberrant retinoid metabolism seems to be a critical factor in the development of endometriosis, a common gynecological disease, which affects up to 10% of reproductive age women and is characterized by the ectopic localization of endometrial-like tissue in the pelvic cavity. This review summarizes recent advances in research on the mechanisms and molecular actions of retinoids in normal endometrial development and physiological function. The potential roles of abnormal retinoid signaling in endometriosis are also discussed. The objectives are to identify limitations in current knowledge regarding the molecular actions of retinoids in endometrial biology and to stimulate new investigations toward the development potential therapeutics to ameliorate or prevent endometriosis symptoms.

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Condition tags

mesh:D004715endometriosis

MeSH descriptors

Endometrium Endometrium Endometrium Retinoids Retinoids Aldehyde Dehydrogenase Aldehyde Dehydrogenase Aldehyde Dehydrogenase 1 Family Animals Decidua Decidua Embryo Implantation Embryo Implantation Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Female Gene Expression Gene Expression Regulation Gene Expression Regulation

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