Overcoming of vincristine resistance in L1210/VCR cells by several corticosteroids. Collateral sensitivity of resistant cells.

Five corticosteroids were tested to determine whether they are able to overcome the multidrug resistance of vincristine resistant mouse leukemia cells L1210/VCR. The most effective in reversing multidrug resistance were cortisone and dexamethasone, less effective as reversing agents were 11-deoxycorticosterone, 1-dehydrocortisone and hydrocortisone. By testing of collateral sensitivity of vincristine resistant cell line to these corticosteroids it was found that only 11-deoxycorticosterone and dexamethasone were toxic to multidrug resistant cells at doses much lower than required for toxicity to the drug-sensitive L1210/S cells. Using thin layer chromatography the polarity of tested corticosteroids was estimated, and good correlation was found between polarity of corticosteroids and their increased toxicity to vincristine resistant cells.

The 11 beta-OHSD inhibitor, carbenoxolone, enhances Na retention by aldosterone and 11-deoxycorticosterone.

Carbenoxolone sodium, CS, a liquorice derivative associated with hypertension and sodium retention, has been demonstrated to inhibit 11 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase, an enzyme that metabolizes cortisol and corticosterone to their respective inactive 11-dehydro products (cortisone and 11-dehydrocorticosterone). It has been proposed that the increased bioavailability of unmetabolized corticosterone and cortisol following 11 beta-OHSD inhibition allows these steroids to act on renal mineralocorticoid receptors to elicit the mineralocorticoid action. Here we describe how CS amplifies the antinatriuretic activity of aldosterone and deoxycorticosterone; the latter steroid is of particular importance in that it does not possess a hydroxyl group at the C-11 position in the steroid ring, indicating that another mechanism(s) in addition to 11 beta-OHSD inhibition is responsible for the amplification of the action of deoxycorticosterone.

Effect of glucocorticoids on gastrointestinal emptying in young broilers.

1. The rates of gastrointestinal (GI) emptying of 8- and 15-d-old chickens treated with 17-hydroxycorticosterone was measured using 14C-polyethylene glycol-4000. 2. The rate of progression of intraluminal contents along the GI tract was decreased by 17-hydroxycorticosterone in both 8- and 15-d-old chickens. Glucocorticoid treatment only delayed the rate of progression of intraluminal contents along the large intestine of the older birds. 3. Delayed transit of intraluminal contents could be explained by a precocious maturation of chick GI tract, induced by glucocorticoids. Loss of responsiveness to glucocorticoids occurs during the second week after hatching, except in the large intestine.

Glucocorticoids increase insulin binding and the amount of insulin-receptor mRNA in human cultured lymphocytes.

The effect of steroid hormones on insulin binding and the amount of insulin-receptor mRNA was examined in IM-9 lymphocytes. Cortisol and cortexolone, but not oestrogen, increased both the binding of insulin and the amount of insulin-receptor mRNA in a time- and dose-dependent manner. Cortisol was most potent, and induced a 2-fold increase in insulin binding and a 4-fold increase in mRNA. The elevation in binding was due to an increased number of insulin receptors at the cell surface. The increase in mRNA involved all four of the insulin-receptor mRNAs and could not be inhibited by cycloheximide. The cortisol-induced increase in mRNA was associated with a 3-4-fold increase in the synthesis of pro-receptor. The relative potency of the three steroids indicated that these effects were mediated by an interaction with the glucocorticoid receptor. The results of this study suggest that cortisol can increase the number of insulin receptors at the cell surface by increasing the amounts of insulin-receptor mRNA and the synthesis de novo of insulin receptors.

[Cortexolone as a modulator of diazepam activity]. / Korteksolon kak moduliator aktivnosti diazepama.

The influence of ACTH (200 micrograms/kg), corticosterone (20 mg/kg) and cortexolone (20 mg/kg) on the anxiolytic activity of diazepam was studied. ACTH partly and corticosterone completely blocked the action of diazepam. Cortexolone injection 30 min before the administration of diazepam induced a 100% anxiolytic effect of diazepam in the range of doses from 0.1 to 0.3 mg/kg (ED50 of anxiolytic diazepam effect is 0.2 mg/kg). The role of stress hormones in the regulation of psychotropic drug activity is discussed.

The effect of DOCA and 9 alpha-fludrocortisone on renal renin content and production.

1. DOCA and 9 alpha-fludrocortisone were given to rats. 2. Plasma renin fell rapidly with both treatments. 3. Renal renin fell slowly to a low level. 4. Renal renin fell to a lower level with DOCA than with 9 alpha-fludrocortisone. 5. When DOCA and 9 alpha-fludrocortisone were stopped plasma renin levels rose rapidly and the renal renin levels increased. 6. The data suggest that synthesis is altered rapidly but it takes a prolonged time for the kidney to become depleted of renin due to the high tissue stores and the associated inhibition of release.

The antiglucocorticoid, cortexolone, fails to promote in vitro activation of cytoplasmic glucocorticoid receptors from the human leukemic cell line CEM-C7.

Cortexolone functions as an antiglucocorticoid in the human leukemic cell line CEM-C7, since it blocks the growth inhibition and cell lysis mediated by the potent agonist triamcinolone acetonide (TA). At high concentrations (10(-5) M) cortexolone alone is inactive. The ability of cortexolone to block the TA-mediated biological effects is reflected in its ability (1000-fold molar excess) to effectively block the binding of [3H]TA to the cytoplasmic unactivated form of the receptors eluted from DEAE-cellulose at approx. 180 mM potassium phosphate (KP). Likewise a 1000-fold molar excess of TA inhibits the specific binding of [3H]cortexolone to the unactivated receptors and to a peak which elutes at low salt concentration (35 mM KP) but does not appear to represent activated [3H]cortexolone-receptor complexes. Thermal activation/transformation (25 degrees C for 30 min +/- 10 mM ATP) of the [3H]TA-receptor complexes significantly enhances the subsequent DNA-cellulose binding capacity of these complexes and also results in their elution from DEAE-cellulose at the low salt (50 mM KP) activated position. In contrast, exposure of the cytoplasmic [3H]cortexolone-receptor complexes to identical in vitro activating (transforming) conditions fails to enhance subsequent DNA-cellulose binding capacity or to result in the appropriate shift in DEAE-cellulose elution profile. This inability of [3H]cortexolone to facilitate activation/transformation of receptors was also verified using cytosol prepared from the glucocorticoid-resistant 'activation-labile' mutant, 3R7. Taken collectively the data suggest that cortexolone, unlike an agonist such as TA, fails to promote in vitro activation/transformation, a conformational change which also occurs in vivo under physiological conditions and is a prerequisite for nuclear binding.

Differential protein synthesis in steroid-treated ocular surface epithelium.

Topical prednisolone and cortexolone, a known glucocorticoid receptor antagonist, differentially affected the synthesis of proteins in normal corneal epithelium and migrating conjunctival epithelium after complete corneal deepithelialization, as measured by 35S-methionine incorporation and SDS-PAGE (sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel) electrophoresis. Application of either prednisolone or cortexolone to corneal epithelium resulted in similar protein synthesis patterns, each showing two new protein bands of about 15K and 32K. Cortexolone, but not prednisolone, initiated the appearance of several protein bands of different molecular weights in the migrating conjunctival epithelium, while treatment with prednisolone plus cortexolone resulted in a pattern of protein bands which resembled the saline-treated control. Crude extracts of prednisolone-treated migrating epithelium also enhanced the inhibition of phospholipase A2 activity, and this prednisolone-induced inhibition was reversed by cortexolone.

11-Deoxycortisol induces hepatic tryptophan oxygenase in rats.

11-Deoxycortisol (cortexolone) has previously been used as a glucocorticoid antagonist in vitro and in adrenalectomized rats. Antiglucocorticoid properties of 11-deoxycortisol in intact rats were examined by studying the effect of 11-deoxycortisol on the induction of hepatic tryptophan oxygenase (TO) by corticosterone. No antiglucocorticoid effect was observed. When 11-deoxycortisol was injected into rats, the TO activity increased. This was probably mainly caused by an elevation of the serum corticosterone level. The induction of TO by 11-deoxycortisol was inhibited by metyrapone. However, 11-deoxycortisol (100 mg/kg) was still not a glucocorticoid antagonist even in presence of metyrapone.

Receptor-mediated glucocorticoid inhibition of cell proliferation in mouse growth cartilage in vitro.

The growth hormone of neonatal facial cartilage from ICR mice is inhibited by glucocorticoid treatment in vitro. A reduction of the overall tissue weight is accompanied by a substantial decrease in the protein content of the tissue. For the first 48 h in culture, hormone-treated cartilage undergoes a complete standstill in protein gain, and only thereafter the protein content increases, yet is markedly smaller than that of control specimens. Further, a significant reduction in the DNA content is seen already by 24 h, a feature that intensifies by 48 h. A slight recovery takes place thereafter. The reduction in DNA concentration is accompanied by a significant decrease in [3H]thymidine incorporation in acid-insoluble material. The inhibition of DNA synthesis by triamcinolone acetonide is protein- and RNA-synthesis-dependent. Autoradiographic examinations reveal that young cartilage cells are heavily labelled with [3H]dexamethasone and that this labelling is specific. To further substantiate the involvement of glucocorticoid-specific receptors in the latter's inhibitory effects, tissues were treated with cortexolone, this apparently 'masking' the cytosolic receptors for glucocorticoids, and thereby succeeded to eliminate the growth-inhibitory effect of triamcinolone. These results provide evidence for a receptor-mediated set of responses to glucocorticoids in these cartilage cells.

Effects of natural androgens and corticosteroids on gonad differentiation in the rainbow trout, Salmo gairdneri.

Rainbow trout fry were treated with equimolar quantities of cortisol, cortisone, androstenedione, and 11 beta-hydroxyandrostenedione, added to the aquarium water during a 4-week period. All four steroids inhibited ovarian growth. Androstenedione did not influence gonadal sex differentiation; the other steroids pushed the sex ratio in the male direction. However, a near to normal sex ratio was observed 300 days after the 11 beta-hydroxyandrostenedione treatment. When added to the food in two different doses during 8 weeks, 11 beta-hydroxyandrostenedione had a pronounced masculinizing effect, and androstenedione did not modify the gonads at all. It is suggested that the two exogenous corticosteroids were probably converted into 11-oxygenated androstenedione derivatives, and that these 11-oxygenated androstenedione derivatives are particularly important in sustaining the differentiation and early development of the testes in rainbow trout. Testosterone does not seem to be indispensable for these processes, because two different doses of testosterone-blocking cyproterone acetate, added to the food for 8 weeks, failed to affect early gonad development.

Mechanism of the regulation of the 1 alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 receptor in the rat jejunum by glucocorticoids.

The distribution of 1 alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1,25-(OH)2D3) receptors in isolated jejunal villous and crypt cells was investigated in normal and adrenalectomized male rats, and also in animals treated with the synthetic glucocorticoid, dexamethasone, and/or the glucocorticoid antagonist, 11-deoxy-cortisol. Adrenalectomy caused an increase in 1,25-(OH)2D3 receptors whilst dexamethasone treatment led to a reduction in receptor number. 11-Deoxy-cortisol was able to reverse the 'down-regulation' effect caused by glucocorticoids. In all cases, the changes in receptor numbers were more pronounced in crypt cells. The data suggest that, in the small intestine, glucocorticoids may control the synthesis of 1,25-(OH)2D3 receptors via the mediation of a glucocorticoid receptor, and that the adrenal hormones mainly express their effect in crypt cells. It is proposed that this phenomenon may, in part, explain the reduction in calcium absorption which occurs in man after chronic glucocorticoid treatment.

Effect of antiglucocorticoids on dexamethasone-induced inhibition of uridine incorporation and cell lysis in isolated mouse thymocytes.

We have compared in isolated mouse thymocytes the action of progesterone, cortexolone, DXH (a 17-beta carboxamide derivative of dexamethasone) and RU 38486 (a new antiglucocorticoid molecule), on dexamethasone-induced inhibition of uridine incorporation and cell lysis, with the affinities of these drugs for glucocorticoid receptors. Our results show that progesterone, cortexolone and DXH which possess similar affinities for glucocorticoid receptors may exhibit variable, weak agonist and antagonist activities according to the parameter studied. RU 38486 was a potent competitor of dexamethasone and was able, when present in a 10-fold excess, to counteract almost completely the inhibitory action as well as the lytic action of 5 X 10(-8) M dexamethasone. This compound which exerts almost no agonist activity may therefore represent a useful tool to investigate the mode of action of antiglucocorticoids.

delta 1-11-oxa-11-deoxycortisol: a new antiglucocorticoid with activity in vivo.

A new steroid-like compound, delta 1-11-oxa-11-deoxycortisol, was tested in a one-week growth suppression, thymus suppression and adrenal weight suppression bioassay for possible glucocorticoid antagonist activity in vivo. We hypothesized that this compound would have antiglucocorticoid activity based on previous studies of 11-deoxycortisol and delta 1,9(11)-11-deoxycortisol, which were optimal glucocorticoid antagonists in vivo in adrenalectomized rats, but which lost antiglucocorticoid activity in intact animals, apparently due to adrenal 11 beta-hydroxylation. Thus, delta 1-11-oxa-11-deoxycortisol, a compound which cannot undergo 11 beta-hydroxylation, was synthesized and tested as an antiglucocorticoid. This analog had an affinity for the rat thymus glucocorticoid receptor similar to that of its parent compounds (Ki 0.9-3.1 x 10(-7) M). A dose of 1 mg/rat antagonized the effect of 15 microgram of dexamethasone in the growth suppression assay (p less than 0.05) and in the thymus suppression assay (p less than 0.06), but did not antagonize dexamethasone-induced adrenal weight suppression. delta 1-11-Oxa-11-deoxycortisol did not exhibit glucocorticoid activity in any of the three assays. These data suggest that delta 1-11-oxa-11-deoxycortisol may be a pure competitive antagonist of dexamethasone.

Antiglucocorticoids: in vivo assay and evaluation of cortexolone, progesterone, and 6-beta-bromoprogesterone.

In vitro antiglucocorticoids (cortexolone and progesterone) were evaluated as in vivo antagonists of dexamethasone-induced increases in liver tyrosine amino transferase (TAT; EC 2.6.1.5), tryptophan oxygenase (TPO; EC 1.13.1.12), and glycogen deposition. Cortexolone antagonized the TPO and glycogen responses to dexamethasone in the liver of adrenalectomized rats but did not significantly influence the induced TAT activity. Progesterone, although toxic at levels approaching those used for cortexolone, was capable of antagonizing the glycogen increase. A new antagonist, 6 beta-bromoprogesterone, was found to be nontoxic and was more potent than cortexolone in blocking the TPO and glycogen responses. These results demonstrate that in vivo antiglucocorticoid activity can be evaluated and suggested significant differences between the sensitivity of TAT induction and that of glycogen or TPO.

Cortexolone antagonizes development of alcohol tolerance in mice.

Mice treated with cortexolone during a period of chronic ethanol feeding displayed significantly less tolerance to a challenge dose of ethanol than mice fed ethanol but not given cortexolone. This glucocorticoid receptor blocker did not alter the hypnotic effects of ethanol in animals not previously given ethanol and no differences were found in ethanol consumption or blood ethanol levels between ethanol-fed mice receiving daily injections of cortexolone and the vehicle-injected controls. It was concluded that cortexolone interferes with the development of tolerance to ethanol.