Objective: To clarify the role of glucocorticoid receptor-beta in resistance to glucocorticoid therapy for allergic rhinitis, we studied 37 tissue samples from 20 patients with severe allergic rhinitis, and samples from age-matched controls.
Methods: Patients were treated with intranasal fluticasone for 6 months and inferior turbinectomy was performed for patients with poor response to glucocorticoid treatment. The expression of glucocorticoid receptor-alpha (GR-alpha), glucocorticoid receptor-beta (GR-beta), and nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) in nasal mucosa was studied immunohistochemically.
Results: GR-alpha and NF-kappaB were expressed to a similar extent in patients and controls, but GR-beta was expressed significantly more in patients, resulting in an increased GR-beta/GR-alpha ratio.
Conclusion: Our findings suggest that GR-beta plays an important role in resistance to glucocorticoid therapy for allergic rhinitis, and its expression might be used as an additional parameter indicating steroid resistance in allergic rhinitis.
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