| abstract |
Methods and compositions for inducing cell differentiation. Compositions having the formula (I) are administered in which R1 represents alkyl or alkenyl containing 1 to about 20 carbon atoms; R2 represents hydroxy, alkoxy or H, R3 represents H or lower alkyl; R4 represents COR5, SO2R5, or CSR5, where R5 represents alkyl, alkenyl or alkynyl containing 1 to 20 carbon atoms, which can be replaced by one or more of the following functional groups: OH, SH, OR6, SR6, NR7R8, COOR9, and CONR10R8, where R6, R7, R8, R9 and R10 independently represent H, alkyl, aryl, alkaryl and arylalkyl with up to about 10 carbon atoms, to mammalian cells which are capable of differentiation, by amounts effective to induce cell differentiation. The invention also relates to methods and compositions for modifying the cell phenotype and treating diseases characterized by cell hyperproliferation. |