Objective: Pre-receptor amplification of glucocorticoids is, in part, determined by the isoenzymes 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (11beta-HSD) type 1 and type 2, interconverting inert cortisone and active cortisol. Increased tissue activity of cortisol may play a part in features of the metabolic syndrome. Our objective was to compare 11beta-HSD1 gene expression in different fat depots (visceral, subcutaneous abdominal, and subcutaneous gluteal) in lean and obese men and women.
Research methods and procedures: A cross-sectional study design was used for healthy patients undergoing minor abdominal surgery (lean men, 10), minor gynecological surgery (lean woman, 10), or gastric banding operations (obese men, 10; and obese women, 10). Gene expressions of 11beta-HSD1 in adipose tissue samples were determined by real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).
Results: Lean women had lower 11beta-HSD1 gene expression in subcutaneous adipose tissue compared with men (62% lower, p < 0.01), whereas no significant difference was found between obese men and women. 11Beta-HSD1 mRNA in human adipose tissue was higher in obese subjects compared with lean subjects in both women and men and in both subcutaneous and visceral adipose tissue. No difference in mRNA expression of 11beta-HSD1 between visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissue or between subcutaneous adipose tissue from different depots was found.
Conclusions: 11Beta-HSD1 in adipose tissue is increased in obesity in both women and men, and may contribute to the associated metabolic syndrome. As 11beta-HSD1 expression in lean women was found to be significantly lower than in lean males, the up-regulation associated with obesity may be relatively more devastating in women than in men, and may help explain the higher relative risk of cardiovascular disease in women suffering from the metabolic syndrome.