The molecular complexity of glucocorticoid actions in inflammation - a four-ring circus.
Glucocorticoids have been the mainstay of anti-inflammatory therapy for the past 50 years despite the significant risks associated with their long-term use. Recent research into the molecular mechanisms of action of these compounds can be aggregated into two major themes: first, those that focus on the involvement of the glucocorticoid receptor in regulating the transcription of pro-inflammatory genes; and second, studies that seek to identify alternative pathways of glucocorticoid action either via the induction of anti-inflammatory mediators or through rapid non-genomic mechanisms. Understanding the temporal-spatial patterns of these multiple mechanisms on relevant cell types will be key to explaining the profound effects that these four-ring steroids exert on the inflammatory process.
Goulding
Nicolas J
NJ
William Harvey Research Institute, Barts and the London, Queen Mary's School of Medicine and Dentistry, Charterhouse Square, London EC1M 6BQ, UK. n.j.goulding@qmul.ac.uk
D000818:Animals; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D011965:Receptors, Glucocorticoid / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism
D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D005938:Glucocorticoids; D011965:Receptors, Glucocorticoid