Regulation of intestinal cholecystokinin gene expression by glucocorticoids

The effect of glucocorticoids on the expression of intestinal cholecystokinin (CCK) was investigated both in vivo and in cell culture systems. In vivo, 2-day administration of methylprednisolone to adult male rats induced a decrease in CCK-like immunoreactivity (CCK-LI) and CCK mRNA levels in mucosal extracts. In two CCK-producing cell lines, RIN 1056E and STC-1 of pancreatic and intestinal origin respectively, dexamethasone induced dose-dependent decreases in both CCK-LI and steady-state CCK mRNA levels. The decrease in CCK mRNA was totally prevented by incubation of cells with an excess of RU 38486, a competitive inhibitor for the binding of glucocorticoids to their receptor. Actinomycin D, used to prevent RNA synthesis, did not modify CCK mRNA stability in dexamethasone-pretreated cells as compared with cells not exposed to dexamethasone. When cells were first incubated with actinomycin D, subsequent addition of dexamethasone left the steady-state CCK mRNA levels unaltered in both cell lines. Nuclear run-on assays performed in RIN 1056E cells showed that glucocorticoids decreased the rate of transcription of the CCK gene. In addition, cycloheximide, used to prevent protein synthesis, abolished the inhibitory effects of dexamethasone on steady-state CCK mRNA levels. These results demonstrate that glucocorticoids down-regulate CCK gene expression in the rat intestinal mucosa and in two CCK-producing cell lines. The effect is blocked by a glucocorticoid receptor antagonist. Inhibition of CCK gene expression may result from a decrease in the transcription rate, and probably involves one or several steps that depend on protein synthesis.