Inhaled corticosteroids (ICSs) are widely prescribed in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, little is known about predictors of ICSs therapeutic response. To investigate whether the variation in glucocorticoid-induced transcript 1 (GLCCI1) rs37973 is associated with ICS efficacy. A total of 204 clinically stable COPD patients were recruited and administered to inhaled fluticasone propionate/salmeterol combination (500/50 ug, twice daily) for 24 weeks. We genotyped the functional rs37973 and mainly assessed its effects on changes in lung function. In vitro, neutrophils isolated from parts of patients were incubated with various concentrations of dexamethasone (0, 10(-6) M and 10(-4) M) in the presence or absence of cigarette smoke extract, apoptosis was then assessed by flow cytometry. Patients with the homozygous GG genotype (increases of 15.3 +/- 33.2 mL) had significantly poorer improvement in FEV1 than those with the AA (92.7 +/- 29.6 mL; p < 0.001) or AG (59.4 +/- 26.9 mL; p < 0.001) genotypes after 24-week treatment. In vitro, dexamethasone had less inhibitory effect of neutrophil apoptosis on GG genotype, which further validated the presence of mutant allele 'G' might negatively affect glucocorticoid responsiveness irrespective of smoking status. The GG genotype of rs37973 may associated with decreased ICSs efficacy in Chinese COPD patients.