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Cortisol increases transfection efficiency of cells
Author(s) -
Bernasconi Alessio G.F,
Rebuffat Alexandre G,
Lovati Emanuela,
Frey Brigitte M,
Frey Felix J,
Galli Ivo
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
febs letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.593
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1873-3468
pISSN - 0014-5793
DOI - 10.1016/s0014-5793(97)01439-7
Subject(s) - transfection , glucocorticoid , glucocorticoid receptor , reporter gene , antiglucocorticoid , in vitro , cortisone , chemistry , cytoplasm , medicine , endocrinology , microbiology and biotechnology , biology , gene , gene expression , biochemistry
DNA uptake can be facilitated by addition of physiological amounts of 11β‐hydroxy glucocorticosteroids (such as cortisol) during transfection. In the presence of cortisol, but not of the inactive 11‐keto glucocorticoid cortisone, twice as many cells uptake and express the reporter gene. The effect is specific and dose‐dependent; the amounts of glucocorticosteroids needed to enhance transfection efficiency are in the nanomolar range, which corresponds to the dissociation constant of glucocorticoids for the glucocorticoid receptor in vitro. This effect can be abolished by an excess of the glucocorticoid antagonist RU486. We infer that the activated cytoplasmic glucocorticoid receptors enhance nuclear translocation of the incoming transfected DNA.