Evidence for a glucocorticoid receptor beta splice variant in the rat and its physiological regulation in liver

► An alternative splice variant of GR (GRβ) occurs in rat by intron inclusion. ► GRα is the predominant mRNA in all tissue types, while GRβ mRNA is a minor component. ► Liver GRα, but not GRβ, is circadian regulated and down-regulated by hormone. ► LPS treatment of down-regulated both variants, but with different time profiles. ► Livers from diabetic animals showed a modest up-regulation in GRβ expression.