Centre for Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, The Institute of Biomedical Research, The Medical School, University of Birmingham Birmingham, UK.
Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2011 Aug 27;2:24. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2011.00024. eCollection 2011.
Glucocorticoids are a class of steroid hormones that are essential to life but cause serious harm in excess. The main clinical features of glucocorticoid excess are due to adverse effects on cells and tissues that arise from a common developmental precursor - the mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC; sometimes referred to as the mesenchymal stem cell). Interestingly glucocorticoids appear essential for the differentiation of cells and tissues that arise from MSCs. High levels of glucocorticoids are used in tissue engineering strategies to enhance the formation of tissues such as bone, cartilage, and muscle. This article discusses the paradox that glucocorticoids both enhance and impair MSC development and function. It will describe how endogenous glucocorticoids are likely to be important in these processes in vivo and will discuss the implications for therapies aimed at reducing the damage associated with the use of therapeutic glucocorticoids.
糖皮质激素是一类甾体激素，对生命至关重要，但过量会造成严重损害。糖皮质激素过多的主要临床特征是由于对细胞和组织的不良影响，这些细胞和组织来源于一种共同的发育前体——间充质基质细胞（MSC；有时也称为间充质干细胞）。有趣的是，糖皮质激素似乎对来源于 MSC 的细胞和组织的分化是必需的。高水平的糖皮质激素被用于组织工程策略中，以增强骨、软骨和肌肉等组织的形成。本文讨论了糖皮质激素既能增强又能损害 MSC 发育和功能的矛盾现象。它将描述内源性糖皮质激素在这些体内过程中可能是如何重要的，并讨论针对减少与使用治疗性糖皮质激素相关的损害的治疗方法的意义。
