The effects of glucocorticoids on thymidine kinase and nucleoside phosphotransferase during development of chicken embryo retina.

Thymidine kinase in chick embryo retina reaches its highest values on the 8-10th day of development, then declines reaching the lowest value at hatching. The rate of DNA synthesis essentially follows this activity while, in contrast, nucleoside phosphotransferase increases progressively during development. Glucocorticoids at 5 X 10(-6) M lower the level of thymidine kinase in isolated retinas of chick embryo. The most effective steroid was hydrocortisone. The effect was observed in retinas from 8-18-day-old chick embryo and, except on the 8th day, was always of the same magnitude. We suggest that a glucocorticoid can be the natural factor responsible for the marked fall in thymidine kinase during development. Brief periods of exposure to steroids increase nucleoside phosphotransferase activity in isolated chick embryo retinas. When the exposure was longer than 3 h this activity was also clearly decreased. We conclude that other factors are responsible for the natural increment which occurs for this activity during development.