Description
Acitretin is an orally bioavailable retinoid that displays anti-inflammatory activity and is used clinically to treat psoriasis. Acitretin is a metabolite of etretinate that displays more optimized pharmacokinetic parameters. This compound activates all retinoic acid receptor subtypes (RARα/β/γ) without binding the receptor itself and also increases cAMP-PKA binding in erythrocytes.
References
Niu X, Cao W, Ma H, et al. Acitretin exerted a greater influence on T-helper (Th)1 and Th17 than on Th4 cells in treatment of psoriasis vulgaris. J Dermatol. 2012 Nov;39(11):916-21. PMID: 22913391.
Saurat JH. Retinoids and psoriasis: novel issues in retinoid pharmacology and implications for psoriasis treatment. J Am Acad Dermatol. 1999 Sep;41(3 Pt 2):S2-6. PMID: 10459139.
Raynaud F, Gerbaud P, Bouloc A, et al. Rapid effect of treatment of psoriatic erythrocytes with the synthetic retinoid acitretin to increase 8-azido cyclic AMP binding to the RI regulatory subunit. J Invest Dermatol. 1993 Jan;100(1):77-81. PMID: 8380830.