Novel Adipose Tissue–Mediated Resistance to Diet-Induced Visceral Obesity in 11β-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenase Type 1–Deficient Mice

Novel Adipose Tissue–Mediated Resistance to Diet-Induced Visceral Obesity in 11β-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenase Type 1–Deficient Mice Nicholas M. Morton 1 , Janice M. Paterson 2 , Hiroaki Masuzaki 3 , Megan C. Holmes 4 , Bart Staels 5 6 , Catherine Fievet 5 6 , Brian R. Walker 1 , Jeffrey S. Flier 7 , John J. Mullins 2 and Jonathan R. Seckl 1 1 Endocrinology Unit, Molecular Medicine Centre, University of Edinburgh, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh, U.K 2 Molecular Physiology Laboratory, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, U.K 3 Department of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan 4 Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Molecular Medicine Centre, University of Edinburgh, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh, U.K 5 Département d’ Athérosclérose,U.545 INSERM, Institut Pasteur de Lille, Lille, France 6 Faculté de Pharmacie, Université de Lille II, Lille, France 7 Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts Address correspondencereprint requests to Nicholas M. Morton, Endocrinology Unit, University of Edinburgh, Molecular Medicine Centre, Western General Hospital, Crewe Road South, Edinburgh, EH4 2XU, U.K. E-mail: nik.morton{at}ed.ac.uk Abstract The metabolic syndrome (visceral obesity, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, and dyslipidemia) resembles Cushing’s Syndrome, but without elevated circulating glucocorticoid levels. An emerging concept suggests that the aberrantly elevated levels of the intracellular glucocorticoid reamplifying enzyme 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11β-HSD-1) found in adipose tissue of obese humans and rodents underlies the phenotypic similarities between idiopathic and “Cushingoid” obesity. Transgenic overexpression of 11β-HSD-1 in adipose tissue reproduces a metabolic syndrome in mice, whereas 11β-HSD-1 deficiency or inhibition has beneficial metabolic effects, at least on liver metabolism. Here we report novel protective effects of 11β-HSD-1 deficiency on adipose function, distribution, and gene expression in vivo in 11β-HSD-1 nullizygous (11β-HSD-1 −/− ) mice. 11β-HSD-1 −/− mice expressed lower resistin and tumor necrosis factor-α, but higher peroxisome proliferator–activated receptor-γ, adiponectin, and uncoupling protein-2 mRNA levels in adipose, indicating insulin sensitization. Isolated 11β-HSD-1 −/− adipocytes exhibited higher ba