title: Cortivazol mediated induction of glucocorticoid receptor messenger ribonucleic acid in wild-type and dexamethasone-resistant human leukemic (CEM) cells.
abstract: Cortivazol is a phenylpyrazolo glucocorticoid of high potency and unusual structure. In both wild-type and highly dexamethasone(dex)-resistant clones of the human leukemic cell line CEM, exposure to cortivazol leads to cell death. It has been shown recently that in wild-type CEM cells but not in a dex-resistant, glucocorticoid receptor(GR)-defective clone ICR-27 TK-3, dex induces GR mRNA. To test the hypothesis that cortivazol acts in dex-resistant cells by making use of the residual GR found there, wild-type and dex-resistant clones were treated with various concentrations of cortivazol and induction of GR mRNA was studied. Cortivazol significantly induced GR mRNA in the normal CEM-C7 as well as in two classes of dex-resistant clones, although the dex-resistant clones needed at least 10 times more cortivazol than the normal cells for significant GR mRNA induction. Increased levels of GR mRNA were noticed as early as 3 h after treatment. A general correlation between induction of GR mRNA and lysis of the normal and dex-resistant cells was found. Positive induction of GR mRNA might be one of the earliest crucial steps in the lysis of normal and dex-resistant CEM cells, or might serve as a marker for the process. However, the lysis pathway in the dex-resistant cells is defective in that dex-resistant clones needed significantly more cortivazol than the normal cells for lysis of the cells.
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Biological Chemistry and Genetics, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston 77550.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ashraf
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kunapuli
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Chilton
authors.forename: E B
authors.initials: EB
authors.lastname: Thompson
mesh_terms: D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D003907:Dexamethasone / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004351:Drug Resistance / Q000235:genetics; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000187:drug effects; D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D015459:Leukemia-Lymphoma, Adult T-Cell; D009154:Mutation; D011281:Pregnatrienes / Q000494:pharmacology*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000096:biosynthesis; D011965:Receptors, Glucocorticoid / Q000235:genetics*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
chemical_list: D005938:Glucocorticoids; D011281:Pregnatrienes; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D011965:Receptors, Glucocorticoid; D003907:Dexamethasone; C005924:cortivazol