Abstract
11-beta-Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (11-beta-OHSD) metabolizes corticosterone (B) to inactive 11-dehydrocorticosterone and thus protects the non-specific renal mineralocorticoid receptor from exposure to B in vivo. There is regional 11-beta-OHSD mRNA expression and bioactivity in brain in vitro, but any in vivo function is unknown. We used the [C-14]2-deoxyglucose technique in conscious rats to investigate whether 11-beta-OHSD inhibition with glycyrrhetinic acid alters local cerebral metabolic activity. We found increased glucose use in subregions of the hypothalamus, hippocampus, neocortex and subthalamus. Thus, 11-beta-OHSD may play a role in regulating the effects of B in the brain, in vivo.
| Original language | English |
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| Pages (from-to) | 777-779 |
| Number of pages | 3 |
| Journal | Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology |
| Volume | 39 |
| Issue number | 5A |
| Publication status | Published - Nov 1991 |