LIPOCORTIN-1 - GLUCOCORTICOIDS CAUGHT IN THE ACT

Glucocorticoids (glucocorticosteroids, corticosteroids) have an import ant place in the treatment of many inflammatory conditions including t hose of the respiratory tract. Their mechanisms of action include both the suppression of inflammatory mediators and the regulation of at le ast one anti-inflammatory protein, lipocortin 1 (also known as annexin 1). Lipocortin 1 has been convincingly demonstrated to mediate the an ti-inflammatory effects of glucocorticoids in a variety of in vivo and in vitro models of inflammation. The actions of lipocortin 1 in the l ung have not been fully elucidated. If, as initial studies suggest, it s effects in the respiratory tract are shown to be anti-inflammatory, it is possible that administration of lipocortin 1 peptides, or other drugs based on the active site of lipocortin 1, might prove to be usef ul agents for the control of respiratory tract inflammation.