Endocrine Abstracts

Glucocorticoids (Gc) are potent anti-inflammatory agents, but their clinical use is limited by their significant side effects. The effects of glucocorticoids are mediated by the cytosolic glucocorticoid receptor (GR), which regulates transcription by transactivation or transrepression. Independent of these genomic effects of the GR are other, very rapid non-genomic effects.The glucocorticoid receptor forms a complex with hsp90, FKBP51, FKBP52 and cyp40 i...

Glucocorticoids (Gcs) act via the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) to inhibit proliferation of many epithelial cell types, and induce apoptosis in others, notably lymphoblastic leukemia. Resistance to Gcs occurs in human small cell lung cancer (SCLC), manifest clinically as dysregulated secretion of ACTH-related peptides. Currently nothing is known of the biological consequences such resistance causes. We have previously shown that a panel of human SCLC cell lines secrete ACTH rel...

Glucocorticoids (Gc) act through the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) to regulate gene transcription, but also initiate a number of rapid non-genomic effects. The inactive GR is found complexed with hsp90 and immunophilins. Several other signalling molecules including c-src and raf-1 also associate with hsp90. Evidence suggests that Gc treatment results in the rapid activation and dissociation of GR and c-src from these complexes. We speculate that GR-mediated activation of one or...