BACKGROUND Glucocorticoid-mediated inhibition of angiogenesis is important in physiology, pathophysiology and therapy. However, the mechanisms through which glucocorticoids inhibit growth of new blood vessels have not been established. This study addresses the hypothesis that physiological levels of glucocorticoids inhibit angiogenesis by directly preventing tube formation by endothelial cells....

We hypothesized that initial treatment of acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) with low-dose glucocorticoids (prednisone-equivalent dose of 1 mg/kg per day) instead of standard-dose glucocorticoids (prednisone-equivalent dose of 2 mg/kg per day) does not compromise major transplantation outcomes. We retrospectively analyzed outcomes among 733 patients who received transplants between 2000 and...

Following 70% hepatectomy, the induction of tyrosine amino-transferase mRNA by glucocorticoids was marginal at 1.5 h, significantly impaired between 3 and 8 h and, at 16 h post-hepatectomy, reached a value approx. 5-fold the basal level, similar to the level observed in quiescent liver. The fold induction of the mRNA was accounted for by a similar fold activation of transcription of the gene by...

Stem cell factor (SCF) is a major mast cell growth factor, which could be involved in the local increase of mast cell number in the asthmatic airways. In vivo, SCF expression increases in asthmatic patients and this is reversed after treatment with glucocorticoids. In vitro in human lung fibroblasts in culture, IL-1beta, a pro-inflammatory cytokine, confirms this increased SCF mRNA and protein ...

Synthetic glucocorticoids were one of the first effective treatments for lymphoid malignancies because of their ability to induce apoptosis and are still used in combination with other chemotherapeutic agents. Up-regulation of Bim, a proapoptotic member of the B-cell lymphoma-2 family, is an important mediator of glucocorticoid-induced apoptosis. Although glucocorticoids are known to elevate Bi...

Antenatal glucocorticoid administration is used in cases of fetuses at risk to be born prematurely to enhance fetal pulmonary surfactant production and prevent infant respiratory distress syndrome. The CYP1A1 is the most important xenobiotic-metabolizing cytochrome P450 enzyme in the human placenta. Importantly, CYP1A1 generates reactive species and its placental activity is elevated in smoking...

glucocorticosteroids are mainly used for inflammatory and non-inflammatory diseases as well as cancers. unawareness of their function, indications and side effects may lead to patient’s hazard. thus, medical staff should be completely familiar with these drugs.objectives: promoting medical staff knowledge about glucocorticoids’ side effects, function and indications. promoting their knowledge a...

Glucocorticoids continue to be the major immunomodulatory agents used in clinical medicine today. However, their actions as anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive drugs are both beneficial and deleterious. We analyzed the effect of glucocorticoids on the gene expression profile of peripheral blood mononuclear cells from healthy donors. DNA microarray analysis combined with quantitative TaqMan ...

Glucocorticoids Glucocorticoid hormones (cortisol in humans and most mammals, corticosterone in rats, mice and most lower vertebrates) are produced by the adrenal glands, predominantly under the regulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Receptors for glucocorticoids are members of the nuclear hormone receptor superfamily and, when activated by their hormone ligands, regulate ...

Glucocorticoids are a family of hormones that coordinate diverse physiological processes in responding to stress. Prolonged glucocorticoid exposure over weeks has been linked to dendritic atrophy and spine loss in fixed tissue studies of adult brains, but it is unclear how glucocorticoids may affect the dynamic processes of dendritic spine formation and elimination in vivo. Furthermore, relativ...