Retinoic acid
Retinoic Acid
Retinoic acid (pronunciation: /rɛtɪˈnoʊɪk ˈæsɪd/) is a metabolite of vitamin A (retinol) that mediates the functions of vitamin A required for growth and development.
Etymology
The term "retinoic acid" is derived from "retinol", which is a form of vitamin A, and "-oic acid", a common ending for carboxylic acids. The term "retinol" itself comes from the Latin "retina", due to the important role vitamin A plays in maintaining healthy vision.
Function
Retinoic acid functions in determining position along embryonic anterior/posterior axis in chordates. It acts through Hox genes, which ultimately control anterior/posterior patterning in early developmental stages.
Related Terms
- Retinol: The alcohol form of vitamin A, which is converted into retinoic acid in the body.
- Carotenoids: Organic pigments that are naturally occurring in the chloroplasts and chromoplasts of plants and some other photosynthetic organisms like algae, some types of fungus and some bacteria.
- Vitamin A: A group of unsaturated nutritional organic compounds that includes retinol, retinal, retinoic acid, and several provitamin A carotenoids.
- Hox genes: A group of related genes that control the body plan of an embryo along the head-tail axis.
See Also
External links
- Medical encyclopedia article on Retinoic acid
- Wikipedia's article - Retinoic acid
This WikiMD article is a stub. You can help make it a full article.
Languages: - East Asian
中文,
日本,
한국어,
South Asian
हिन्दी,
Urdu,
বাংলা,
తెలుగు,
தமிழ்,
ಕನ್ನಡ,
Southeast Asian
Indonesian,
Vietnamese,
Thai,
မြန်မာဘာသာ,
European
español,
Deutsch,
français,
русский,
português do Brasil,
Italian,
polski