Glucocorticoid receptors in patients with congenital adrenal hyperplasia.

To determine the glucocorticoid receptor (GC-R) status in congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) we examined 11 patients (5 female, 6 male) with 21-hydroxylase deficiency and 3 patients (2 female, 1 male) with 11beta-hydroxylase deficiency. The mean age at investigation was 8.9+/-3.5 yr. Age of diagnosis was 4.4+/-3.2 yr and all patients were being treated with hydrocortisone. The control group included 10 (5 female, 5 male) age-matched healthy children. Blood samples were drawn at 0800 a.m. after an overnight fast in all subjects and after 5 days off treatment in patients with CAH. Serum cortisol (in all children), and serum 17-hydroxyprogesterone and androstenedione (in the patient group) were measured by radioimmunoassay. Mononuclear leukocytes were isolated from peripheral blood and the binding of [3H]dexamethasone to GC-R was examined. GC-R number and the dissociation constant (Kd), which is inversely proportional to its binding affinity, were determined. Mean GC-R numbers were 5814+/-1574 and 6816+/-1647; mean Kd values were 3.6+/-1.5 nM and 4.2+/-0.7 nM in patient and control groups, respectively. There were no significant differences in these parameters between the two groups. Neither receptor number nor binding affinity correlated with basal serum cortisol levels in either group. In the patient group, no correlation was observed between replacement hydrocortisone doses and either morning serum cortisol levels or GC-R number. The higher binding affinity and requirement of higher hydrocortisone dose might have been due to a compensatory response to increased clearance of glucocorticoids. In conclusion, GC-R parameters are not changed in patients with CAH and the variability of glucocorticoid replacement doses may be related to other functional defects of GC-R and glucocorticoid pharmacokinetics.