Abstract
Summary
Cortisol decreased cell viability and inhibited glucose uptake by cultured rat thymocytes. The survival of human blood lymphocytes was also affected adversely by cortisol. The effects of the steroid on rat thymocytes occurred under anaerobic as well as under aerobic conditions although toxicity to the cell was more profound when oxygen was present. These results are consistent with the idea that a block in glucose uptake is an important link in the chain of events which results eventually in irreversible cellular injury in lymphocytes which have been exposed to pharmacological doses of the glucocorticoids.
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