PCR Cloning of N-Terminal RAR Isoforms and APL-Associated PLZF-RARα Fusion Proteins

Vitamin A (retinol), a simple fat-soluble molecule discovered in 1913 by McCollum and Davis (1 ), is essential for proper development, growth, and maintenance of a normal adult vertebrate organism (2 –4 ). Dietary deficiency of vitamin A results in structural and functional abnormalities of a multitude of organs and organ systems (5 –7 ). Likewise, excess of vitamin A is deleterious to life, particularly in its early development where hypervitaminosis A leads to profound embryonic malformations (6 , 8 , 9 ).