The effect of prednisone and hydrocortisone on the plasma protein binding of prednisolone in man

Summary The protein binding of prednisolone was studied in plasma obtained from healthy volunteers in the presence of added amounts of prednisone and hydrocortisone. The plasma protein binding was determined using in vitro equilibrium dialysis for 16 h at 37°C against isotonic Krebs-Ringer buffer using radioactive prednisolone. Prednisone appeared to have no effect on prednisolone binding. This surprising result was observed even when prednisone concentrations were more than 35 fold greater than prednisolone concentrations. In contrast, a marked competition between hydrocortisone and prednisolone was observed. These binding data were fit using a nonlinear least squares regression computer program and the capacity and affinity constants for the binding of prednisolone to transcortin and albumin were estimated including the competition for binding sites between prednisolone and hydrocortisone. The results from these studies compare favorably with recent parameter calculations, and our previous work where differences in binding were noted between cushingoid and noncushingoid patients.