We have previously shown that the eye is a mineralocorticoid-sensitive organ and we now question the role of mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) in ocular inflammation. The endotoxin-induced uveitis (EIU), a rat model of human intraocular inflammation, was induced by systemic administration of lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Evaluations were made 6 and 24 hours after intraocular injection of aldosterone ...

Pituitary ablation (hypophysectomy) in rats was previously reported to cause a precipitous change in the relative abundance of two alternative splice variants of the "BK"- or "Maxi K"-encoding Slo gene in adrenal chromaffin cells. Inclusion of the optional "STREX" exon (STRess axis-regulated EXon) in a C-terminal splice site was reduced, in preference to the variant lacking an insert at this si...

The hippocampus, being sensitive to stress and glucocorticoids, plays significant roles in certain types of learning and memory. Therefore, the hippocampus is probably involved in the increasing drug use, drug seeking, and relapse caused by stress. We have studied the effect of stress with morphine on synaptic plasticity in the CA1 region of the hippocampus in vivo and on a delayed-escape parad...

Adaptive changes in brain areas following drug withdrawal are believed to contribute to drug seeking and relapse. Cocaine withdrawal alters the expression of GluR1 and GluR2/3 subunits of alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionic acid (AMPA) receptors in nucleus accumbens or amygdala, but the influence of drug withdrawal on hippocampus is little known. Here, we have examined the expre...

Numerous studies have shown estrogen to be vasoactive in various circulations. Our objective was to determine the effect of estrogen on isolated bovine coronary arteries and the possible mechanism. Bovine coronary arteries, precontracted with thromboxane mimetic U46619 were given doses (0.01-30 microM) of 17B-estradiol in the presence and absence of endothelium and these inhibitors: 10 microM i...

BACKGROUND Glucocorticoid-mediated inhibition of angiogenesis is important in physiology, pathophysiology and therapy. However, the mechanisms through which glucocorticoids inhibit growth of new blood vessels have not been established. This study addresses the hypothesis that physiological levels of glucocorticoids inhibit angiogenesis by directly preventing tube formation by endothelial cells....

Aldosterone increases cation transport and contractility of vascular smooth muscle, but the specific transporter involved and how it is linked to smooth muscle tone is unknown. Because the Na-K-2Cl cotransporter (NKCC1) contributes to vascular smooth muscle contraction and is regulated by vasoactive compounds, we sought to determine whether this transporter is a target of aldosterone in rat aor...

Glucocorticoid-induced apoptosis was investigated in glucocorticoid-sensitive 6TG1.1 and resistant ICR27TK.3 human leukemic T cells. Following glucocorticoid treatment of 6TG1.1 cells, chromatin fragmentation was observed after a delay of 24 h. Fragmentation was not observed in ICR27TK.3 cells containing mutant glucocorticoid receptors (L753F) that are activation-deficient but retain the abilit...

Muscle wasting during sepsis is in part regulated by glucocorticoids. In recent studies, treatment of cultured muscle cells in vitro with dexamethasone upregulated expression and activity of p300, a histone acetyl transferase (HAT), and reduced expression and activity of the histone deacetylases-3 (HDAC3) and -6, changes that favor hyperacetylation. Here, we tested the hypothesis that sepsis an...

Glucocorticoid (GC) acts through both genomic and nongenomic mechanisms. It affects the structure and function of the central nervous system, especially the hippocampus. Here we report an in vitro culture system that can yield embryonic hippocampal neurons deficient in the expression of GC receptor as demonstrated by immunoblotting, immunocytochemistry, and RT-PCR. Owing to this unique feature,...