Regulation of nerve growth factor receptor mRNA content by dexamethasone: in vitro and in vivo studies.

Northern blot hybridization analysis was used to study regulation of nerve growth factor receptor (NGFR) mRNA content by glucocorticoids. Treatment for 6 h with dexamethasone (1 microM) caused a 40% decrease of NGFR mRNA content in PC12 cells and a 60% decrease in C6-2B glioma cells which was time and dose dependent. Dexamethasone (1 microM/kg) administered s.c. for two days to 21-day-old rats, elicits a 60% decrease in NGFR mRNA content in septum. These results suggest that the expression of NGFR gene in the brain could be inhibited by endogenous glucocorticoids. Whether dexamethasone inhibits NGFR gene expression by directly affecting cis-regulatory elements in the promoter regions of the gene remains to be elucidated.