Corticosteroids and Lymphoid Cells

TLDR

Glucocorticoid hormones profoundly affect lymphoid tissues and cells and are widely used to treat immunologic, inflammatory, and neoplastic diseases, yet many questions—including species differences—remain unanswered after extensive review. This article seeks to reexamine the subject by focusing on three aspects, the first being species.

Abstract

GLUCOCORTICOSTEROID hormones of the adrenal cortex have striking pharmacologic effects on lymphoid tissues and cells. These effects form part of the basis for the widespread use of these hormones in the treatment of a variety of diseases involving immunologic, inflammatory or neoplastic processes. The subject is large and has been reviewed in the past,1 2 3 4 5 6 7 but many questions remain to be answered.The purpose of this article is to take a new look at the subject, concentrating on three aspects. The first is species differences in susceptibility to corticosteroids. (Although these differences have been noted before, they are often overlooked; they . . .