Glucocorticoid receptors in circulating lymphocytes of premature infants and newborns.

The number and affinity of glucocorticoid receptors in lymphocytes of newborns and prematures were determined by a whole cell 3H-dexamethasone binding assay. Mean receptor numbers were, 1758 +/- 245/cell in cord blood, 2758 +/- 307/cell in mature newborns and 2025 +/- 485/cell in prematures. Three of the premature babies died with hyaline membrane disease (HMD). They had not been treated prenatally with dexamethasone and no specific binding was measurable in their lymphocytes, suggesting that the lack of receptors might be one of the causes of HMD.