Glucocorticoid-induced apoptosis in lymphoid organs is associated with a delayed increase in circulating deoxyribonucleic acid.

Pathological processes like cancer, chronic inflammation and autoimmune phenomena, all of which involve massive cell death, are associated with significant increases in circulating DNA. In order to clarify whether massive apoptosis occurring under physiological circumstances also causes DNA release into the circulation, we correlated the time-course of dexamethasone-induced intra thymic cell apoptosis with plasma DNA dynamics in rats. Animals were given 10 mg/l dexamethasone in their drinking water for up to 7 days. Sequential plasma samples were obtained during the treatment and DNA was quantitated by a micro fluorometric assay. Thymus and spleen weight as well as apoptotic cell levels were assessed at different times. Seven days of glucocorticoid treatment reduced thymic and spleen mass by 82 and 31%, respectively. Intra thymic apoptosis was maximal 24 h after the beginning of glucocorticoid treatment, declining markedly by 48 h. Very little apoptosis was observed in the spleen. Plasma DNA increased steadily during the first 4 days of glucocorticoid treatment (11.8 +/- 1.2 microg/ml on day 0; 24.2 +/- 1.6 microg/ml on day 4) beginning to decline afterward. Thymectomy but not splenectomy, drastically reduced the glucocorticoid-induced increase in plasma DNA. It is concluded that hormone-induced massive intra thymic cell death is followed by a delayed release of nucleosomal DNA into the circulation.