AM580 is a retinoic acid receptor agonist that is selective for RARα (Kd = 8 nM; AC50 = 0.36 nM) compared to RARβ (Kd = 131 nM; AC50 = 24.6 nM) and RARγ (Kd = 450 nM; AC50 = 27.9 nM). It demonstrates greater specific binding to RARα compared to retinoic acid , which exhibits little selectivity across RARα, β, or γ. AM580 has been used in combination with the GSK3β inhibitor CHIR99021 to efficiently induce differentiation of human induced pluripotent stem cells into immediate mesoderm. It can also inhibit the proliferation of various tumor cells, inhibiting survival signaling pathways and inducing apoptosis.