Endocrine Abstracts

11HSD1 regenerates cortisol from cortisone and maintains glucocorticoid receptor (GR) activation. Adipose-specific transgenic 11HSD1 overexpression in mice causes obesity, insulin resistance, and hypertension (reflecting increased adipose angiotensinogen); however, the effect depended upon local GR expression. In human obesity, 11HSD1 activity is increased similarly in biopsied adipose, but the impact remains uncertain. We tested whether increased adipose 11HSD1 activity in ob...

Introduction: Increased capacity for glucocorticoid regeneration in subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) by 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase-1 (11HSD1) is associated with obesity and associated risk factors. We hypothesised that down-regulation of SAT 11HSD1 and/or glucocorticoid receptor-α (GRα) may explain differences in body fat distribution and metabolic risk between black and white women. The study aimed to compare the expression of 11HSD1 and glucocorticoid r...

Context: Estrogens may have protective properties in the cardiovascular system, linked to the activation of estrogen receptor alpha (ERα), present in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) and endothelial cells (ECs). ERα-mediated signaling regulates vasodilatation and atherogenesis, and since hypertension and atherosclerosis are major mechanisms in stroke development, we hypothesized that genetic variations in the ERα gene (ESR1) were associated with strok...

Intra-adipose steroid metabolism may be a key determinant of accumulation and distribution of body fat. Adverse 'central' fat can be driven by glucocorticoid excess or decreased oestrogen/androgen ratio. We previously demonstrated increased regeneration of cortisol by 11beta-HSD1 in adipose in human obesity. Here, we measured mRNAs for enzymes dictating local activation of oestrogens (aromatase) and androgens (5alpha-reductase type 1) in subcutaneous human adipose and related ...