Korean J Gastroenterol.  2003 Feb;41(2):111-118.

The Clinical Implication of Glucocorticoid Receptor beta Expression in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Diseases

• Yang SY
• Myung SJ
• Yang SK
• Chang HS
• Kim TH
• Bang SJ
• Jung HY
• Hong WS
• Kim JH
• Min YI
• Yu CS
• Kim JC
• Oh HJ
• Cho YK
• Lee JA

Abstract

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Glucocorticoid is mainly used for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). However, such a treatment occasionally shows refractory cases and a long-term use causes serious side effects. It would be very useful if we could predict the responsiveness before treatment. Recently, it is reported that glucocorticoid response is related to the expression of human glucocorticoid receptor (hGR). Thus, we investigated the expression rates and clinical implication of hGR in patients with IBD. METHODS: The mRNA of peripheral blood mononuclear cells was obtained from 24 patients with ulcerative colitis (UC), 12 patients with Crohn's disease (CD), and 17 controls. The cDNA was confirmed using specific primers for hGR alpha and hGR beta. RESULTS: The expression of hGR alpha mRNA was detected in all patients and controls. In contrast, hGR beta mRNA was detected in 14 patients (10 in UC, 41.7% and 4 in CD, 33.3%) and 7 controls (41.2%). Seven patients were glucocorticoid-resistant and underwent an operation (hGR beta positive: 3, hGR beta negative: 4). There was no significant difference in the treatment duration and dosage between the hGR beta positive and negative groups. However, the hGR beta negative group had a significant decrease in the colitis activity after glucocorticoid treatment. CONCLUSIONS: The expression of hGR mRNA might provide helpful information about glucocorticoid responsiveness in patients with IBD.

Keyword

Inflammatory bowel diseases; Receptors; glucocorticoid; Human; Peripheral blood mononuclear cells

MeSH Terms

Humans