Retinoic acid receptor alpha (RAR-alpha) is receptor for retinoic acid. Retinoic acid receptors bind as heterodimers to their target response elements in response to their ligands, all-trans or 9-cis retinoic acid, and regulate gene e, Xenopus/Amphibian,pression in various biological processes. The R, Xenopus/Amphibian,R/RAR-alpha heterodimers bind to the retinoic acid response elements (RARE) composed of tandem 5'-AGGTCA-3' sites known as DR1-DR5. In the absence of ligand, the R, Xenopus/Amphibian,R-RAR-alpha heterodimers associate with a multiprotein comple, Xenopus/Amphibian, containing transcription corepressors that induce histone acetylation, chromatin condensation and transcriptional suppression. Chromosomal aberrations involving RAR-alpha are commonly found in acute promyelocytic leukemia.