Expression of glucocorticoid receptor isoforms and associations with serine/arginine-rich protein 30c and 40 in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.

Abstract To investigate the expression of glucocorticoid receptor (GR) isoforms in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), confirm the main GR isoforms involving in glucocorticoids (GC) resistance, and explore the associations of GR isoforms with serine/arginine-rich protein (SRp) 30c and SRp40. Seventy patients with SLE and thirty-eight age- and sex-matched controls were recruited. All patients received prednisone (0.5-1 mg/kg/d) as their routine therapy. According to the therapeutic effect, patients were divided into glucocorticoid-resistant (GCR) and glucocorticoid-sensitive (GCS) groups. Transcript levels of GRα, GRβ, GRγ, GR-P, SRp30c and SRp40 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were determined by real-time PCR. GRα and GRβ proteins were detected by western blotting. Trial registration number is ChiCTR-RCH-12002808. Four GR transcripts in SLE patients showed the following trend: GRα (51.85%) > GR-P (23.78%) > GRγ (13.08%) >GRβ (0.03%). GR-P transcript and ratio of GRα/GR-P in SLE patients were significantly higher than that in controls (p