Glucocorticoid receptor in active pulmonary sarcoidosis.
Glucorticoid receptor (GR) content of open-chest lung biopsies of 8 patients with active non treated pulmonary sarcoidosis was compared to 10 normal lungs. Results showed a higher GR level in sarcoid lungs (86.0 +/- 8.0 fMol/mg protein) than in control ones (8.2 +/- 3.1 fMol/mg protein). Our findings suggest that this increase is due to the accumulation of active cells in the sarcoid granuloma, possibly lymphocytes and or macrophages that may express cytosolic GR. The high level of this receptor in sarcoidosis may represent an indicator of the responsiveness of this disease to corticoids.