Signal transduction pathway of glucocorticoid's rapid action in PC12 cells

Traditionally, steroid hormone action has been described as the modulation of nuclear transcription, thus triggering genomic events that are responsible for physiological effects. Despite early observation of rapid steroid effects that were incompatible with this theory, nongenomic steroid action has been widely recognized only recently. More and more evidence for these rapid effects has been reported in recent years, but the signal transduction pathways of steroid hormones are not clear yet. Based on the study of the effect of glucocorticoids on the secretion of catecholamine induced by high K⁺, nicotine and bradykinin and the signal transduction pathway as well in PC12 cells, a new model of corticosterone's rapid nongenomic action in PC12 cells is proposed. Glucocorticoid might act through the PTX-sensitive-G protein-PKC pathway in PC12 cells.