Differential RXR & RAR activity of stilbene retinoid analogs bearing thiazole and imidazole carboxylic acids

Retinoids are hormones which activate two distinct families of nuclear receptors: the retinoic acid receptors (RARα,β,γ) and the retinoid X receptors (RXRα,β,γ). We report thiazole and imidazole substituted stilbene analogs that have RXR specific or pan-agonist activity and discuss the structural features that impart these differential activation properties to compounds of this class.