About the cutaneous targets of bexarotene in CTCL patients

• Published in: Experimental dermatology Vol. 19; no. 8; pp. e299 - e301
• Main Authors: Knol, Anne Chantal, Quéreux, Gaëlle, Brocard, Anabelle, Ballanger, Fabienne, Khammari, Amir, Nguyen, Jean-Michel, Dréno, Brigitte
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.08.2010
• Subjects: Aged; Anticarcinogenic Agents - pharmacology; Anticarcinogenic Agents - therapeutic use; Antigens, CD1 - metabolism; Apoptosis - drug effects; bexarotene; Biopsy; Case-Control Studies; cutaneous T-cell lymphoma; Female; HLA-DR Antigens - metabolism; Humans; Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1 - metabolism; keratinocytes; Keratinocytes - drug effects; Keratinocytes - metabolism; Keratinocytes - pathology; Langerhans cells; Langerhans Cells - drug effects; Langerhans Cells - metabolism; Langerhans Cells - pathology; Lymphoma, T-Cell, Cutaneous - drug therapy; Lymphoma, T-Cell, Cutaneous - metabolism; Lymphoma, T-Cell, Cutaneous - pathology; Male; Middle Aged; Skin - metabolism; Skin - pathology; Skin Neoplasms - drug therapy; Skin Neoplasms - metabolism; Skin Neoplasms - pathology; T-Lymphocytes - drug effects; T-Lymphocytes - metabolism; T-Lymphocytes - pathology; Tetrahydronaphthalenes - pharmacology; Tetrahydronaphthalenes - therapeutic use
• ISSN: 0906-6705; 1600-0625
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0625.2009.00995.x

Please cite this paper as: About the cutaneous targets of bexarotene in CTCL patients. Experimental Dermatology 2010; 19: e299–e301. :  There are several approved therapies for cutaneous T‐cell lymphoma (CTCL). The retinoids are one of the major biologic response modifiers used in CTCL, producing good response rates but few complete responses. Bexarotene has been demonstrated to act on malignant T‐cells by inducing their apoptosis, but nothing is known about its role on keratinocytes and Langerhans cells. Immunohistochemical analysis using CD1a, HLA‐DR, ICAM‐1 (activation markers), CD95 and CD40 (apoptosis markers) was conducted on frozen sections of bexarotene‐exposed cutaneous explants and skin biopsy specimens from patients treated with bexarotene. None of the studied markers was significantly modulated both on cutaneous explants and on skin biopsy specimens after treatment with bexarotene, compared to controls. Langerhans cells and keratinocytes do not appear to play a central role in the therapeutic control of CTCL by bexarotene therapy. The main bexarotene’s target thus remains T‐cells by inducing their apoptosis, a mechanism that is different from the other retinoids used in CTCL.