Nuclear translocation of the cytoplasmic glucocorticoid receptor in the iris--ciliary body of the rabbit.

The cytoplasmic glucocorticoid receptor of the iris--ciliary body of the rabbit has been shown to translocate to the cell nucleus within 30 min of an injection of cortisol. Over the next 2 1/2 hr the amount of receptor returns to the control value. The threshold of the loss of receptor from the cytosol was found at 0.04 mg of cortisol per kilogram body weight, with a maximal loss being reached at a cortisol dose of 0.5 mg/kg B.W. The inactive glucocorticoid tetrahydrocortisol and the major sex steroids, dihydrotestosterone, estradiol, and progesterone, had little or no effect on this translocation, indicating the specificity of the cortisol effect. Thus this receptor appears to migrate to the cell nucleus in a manner similar to that found in other steroid-sensitive tissues and is consistent with the accepted mechanism whereby these hormones regulate differential gene expression in the nucleus.