Effects of cortisol on glycosaminoglycans synthesized by normal and rheumatoid synovial fibroblasts in vitro.

Cultivated rheumatoid synovial fibroblasts synthesize hyaluronic acid which has a changed molecular weight distribution in Sepharose 2B gel chromatography, when compared with normal synovial fibroblasts. Cortisol has no effect on the molecular weight distribution of either normal or rheumatoid hyaluronate. However, it does reduce the hyaluronic acid synthesis, by more than 50% in both cell types at low, near physiological plasma concentrations of the steroid.