title: Glucocorticoid receptor expression in whole blood with preterm infants.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Although glucocorticoid hormones play important roles in fetal development, the expression of their receptors in the whole blood of preterm infants remains unknown.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to investigate the levels of glucocorticoid receptor (GR) α and β in the whole blood of preterm and term infants.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study group consisted of 131 infants, of which 54 (41%) were preterm. Whole blood from preterm and term infants was analyzed by real-time PCR to monitor the levels of each receptor mRNA.
  
  
  RESULTS
  GRβ mRNA were detected in 96.6% and GRα mRNA in 100% of participants. The GRα and GRβ isoforms were detected at a ratio of 1:0.0002. GRβ mRNA/GAPDH expression in preterm infants was significantly higher than that in term infants (p=0.002). There was significant correlation between GRα/GRβ ratio and birth weight in preterm infants (rs=0.317, p=0.019), as well as between GRβ/GAPDH expression and birth weight (rs=-0.296, p=0.030). Furthermore, in preterm infants, GRβ/GAPDH expression was higher in those with SGA than in those without SGA (p=0.022).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Importantly, in preterm infants, both the expression of GRβ and the GRα/GRβ ratio were associated with birth weight. Further studies with larger populations are necessary to determine the relation between the expression of GR and the clinical relevance of preterm infants.
authors: Department of Pediatrics, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan. go-h@fmu.ac.jp
authors: Hayato
authors: H
authors: Go
authors: Maki
authors: M
authors: Sato
authors: Koichi
authors: K
authors: Hashimoto
authors: Takashi
authors: T
authors: Imamura
authors: Masatoshi
authors: M
authors: Kaneko
authors: Toshiko
authors: T
authors: Sato
authors: Aya
authors: A
authors: Goto
authors: Tsutomu
authors: T
authors: Ishii
authors: Naohisa
authors: N
authors: Ishibashi
authors: Nobuo
authors: N
authors: Momoi
authors: Keiya
authors: K
authors: Fujimori
authors: Mitsuaki
authors: M
authors: Hosoya
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D015870:Gene Expression / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature / Q000097:blood* / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D036801:Parturition / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D011247:Pregnancy; D011965:Receptors, Glucocorticoid / Q000097:blood* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D047929:Term Birth / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D011965:Receptors, Glucocorticoid; C411470:glucocorticoid receptor alpha; C121943:glucocorticoid receptor beta