We have previously shown that retinoids inhibit activation of human peripheral blood B-lymphocytes. In the present paper, we wished to explore the involvement of nuclear retinoid-specific receptors in this process by using ligands specific for the retinoic acid receptors (RARs) and retinoid X receptors (RXRs). We found that the RAR-specific ligand TTAB reduced anti-IgM-induced B-cell activation in a dose-dependent manner. Thus, at 100 nM of TTAB, DNA synthesis was reduced by approximately 60%. In contrast, the RXR-selective ligand SR11217 had no effect on DNA synthesis. Similar findings were obtained when the expression of the activation antigen CD71 (appears late in G1) was examined. The role of retinoids in apoptosis of resting peripheral blood B-lymphocytes was examined using the same receptor-selective ligands. Again, we found that the RAR-selective ligands were more potent effectors than were the RXR-selective ligands. In spite of the inhibitory effects of retinoids on B-cell proliferation, the same retinoids significantly promoted the survival of the cells. Thus, 10 nM TTAB significantly reduced spontaneous apoptosis of in vitro cultured B-cells at day 3 from 45% to 30%, as determined by vital dye staining and DNA end-labeling. Again, the RXR-specific ligand SR11217 had no effect. Interestingly, we found that CD40 ligand was able to potentiate the retinoid-mediated inhibition of apoptosis. By reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (PCR), we found that peripheral blood B-lymphocytes expressed RARalpha, RARgamma, and RXRalpha, but not RARbeta, RXRbeta, or RXRgamma. Hence, the lack of effect of the RXR-specific ligand SR11217 on growth and apoptosis was not due to absence of RXRs. In conclusion, the ability of retinoids to inhibit growth and prevent apoptosis of normal human B-lymphocytes indicates a dual role of retinoids in this cell compartment, and it appears that both effects of retinoids are mediated via RARs and not RXRs.