M Mo od du ul la at ti io on n o of f g gl lu uc co oc co or rt ti ic co oi id d r re ec ce ep pt to or r e ex xp pr re es ss si io on n i in n h hu um ma an n b br ro on nc ch hi ia al l e ep pi it th he el li ia al l c ce el ll l l li in ne es s b by y I IL L--1 1β, , T TN NF F--α a an nd d L LP PS S
nM, respectively. Using electrophoretic mobility shift assays we demonstrated the binding of nuclear translocated GR to specific sites on deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), named glucocorticoid responsive elements (GRE).Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) significantly increased the number of GR per cell (median=312% and 171% of control, respectively; p<0.05), but significantly reduced the ligand affinity of these receptors, i.e. increased the Kd (median=410% and 145% of control, respectively; p<0.05) in BEAS 2B cells.These results indicate that the bronchial epithelium may be an actual target for glucocorticoid therapy. Inflammatory mediators, such as IL-1β and LPS, modulate the number and ligand affinity of these GR. Therefore, the response of bronchial epithelium to glucocorticoid therapy may be modulated by airway diseases associated with inflammation. Eur Respir J., 1996Respir J., , 9, 2036Respir J., -2043