Endocrine Abstracts

Background: Liver fibrosis in cirrhosis is characterized by accumulation of extracellular matrix from activated hepatic stellate cells (HSCs). Glucocorticoids (GCs) limit HSC activation in vitro. Local GC levels are regulated by 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase-1 (11βHSD1) which converts inactive GCs (11-dehydrocorticosterone) into active GCs (corticosterone). In this study we hypothesized that 11βHSD1 could potentially inhibit liver fibrosis.<p cla...