Figure 1.

Changes in CBG cortisol-binding capacity after incubation of human serum with culture media from a range of different bacteria. The cortisol-binding capacity of CBG was measured using [³H]cortisol after human serum (1 μl) was incubated for 16 hours at 37°C with media (90 μl) from bacterial cultures. A marked decrease in cortisol-binding capacity was also observed after incubation with only 1 μl of P. aeruginosa medium. Data are presented as mean percentage ± SD of cortisol-binding capacity relative to the serum incubated with 90 μl of DPBS instead of bacterial culture media. Incubations were performed in triplicates.