The fact that certain adrenal steroid hormones are immunosuppressive and anti-inflammatory has been known for many years, and is routinely exploited by physicians. These effects are attributable to glucocorticoid steroids such as cortisol. Pharmacological doses of glucocorticoids inhibit most or all T cell types. However we now know that the effect of exposure to raised physiological levels is mainly to drive developing lymphocyte responses towards a Th2 cytokine profile (interleukin-4 secreting) while suppressing the development ofThi (gamma interferon- secreting) lymphocytes. Only recently have two further regulatory mechanisms become appar- ent. First, these effects of cortisol are balanced by pro-inflammatory and ThI-enhancing effects of another adrenal steroid, dehydroepiandro- sterone sulfate (DHEAS). Second, the activity of cortisol is directly modulated by enzymes in the target organs and lymphoid tissues that convert it into inactive cortisone. This new information leads to the possibility that immunoregulatory steroids could be used by physicians in novel ways. We can envisage steroid combinations that exploit the anti-inflammatory effects of corti- sol, while the Thi-suppressing and Th2-promoting properties of these hormones are opposed by derivatives of DHEAS. Such therapies are already proving effective in animal models of infection, and could revol- utionize treatment of Th2-mediated diseases such as asthma, where the anti-inflammatory effects of cortisol are desirable but the effects on T lymphocyte differentiation are not.
Product Identifiers
Publisher
Springer London Ltd
ISBN-13
9781447112389
eBay Product ID (ePID)
117462252
Product Key Features
Author
S. Lightman, G.A.w. ROOK
Publication Name
Steroid Hormones and the T-Cell Cytokine Profile
Format
Paperback
Language
English
Subject
Medicine, Psychiatry
Publication Year
2011
Type
Textbook
Number of Pages
227 Pages
Dimensions
Item Height
235mm
Item Width
155mm
Item Weight
371g
Additional Product Features
Editor
G.A.w. ROOK, S. Lightman
Country/Region of Manufacture
United Kingdom
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