title: Relationship between glucocorticoid receptor and response to glucocorticoid therapy in ulcerative colitis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To clarify the relationship between the glucocorticoid receptor and the effectiveness of glucocorticoid therapy in patients with ulcerative colitis, we investigated the number and apparent dissociation constant of glucocorticoid receptor in peripheral blood mononuclear leukocytes of patients with ulcerative colitis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eleven patients with ulcerative colitis (5 who responded to intravenous glucocorticoids and 6 who did not) and ten control subjects were studied. The number and apparent dissociation constant of glucocorticoid receptor were measured using a whole-cell binding assay. Results were expressed as a median (interquartile range).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The number of glucocorticoid receptors from the six nonresponders, five responders, and ten healthy controls were 4922 (range, 4484-5643), 3413 (range, 3183-4450), and 3610 (range, 2594-3979) binding sites/cell, respectively. The apparent dissociation constant of the glucocorticoid receptors from the nonresponders, responders, and healthy controls were 7.03 (range, 5.66-10), 4.27 (range, 4-5.13), and 6.18 (range, 5.86-6.74) nM, respectively. Nonresponders had a significant increase both in the number of binding sites and in the apparent dissociation constant compared with responders (P = 0.045; P = 0.029).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The increased number and apparent dissociation constant of glucocorticoid receptor are closely associated with the effectiveness of glucocorticoid therapy. The measurement of the number and apparent dissociation constant of glucocorticoid receptor may be useful in predicting response to glucocorticoids.
authors.affiliation: Third Department of Internal Medicine, Tohoku University School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shimada
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hiwatashi
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yamazaki
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kinouchi
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Toyota
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003093:Colitis, Ulcerative / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000737:chemistry; D008297:Male; D011239:Prednisolone / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011965:Receptors, Glucocorticoid / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D005938:Glucocorticoids; D011965:Receptors, Glucocorticoid; D011239:Prednisolone