Preclinical and clinical findings indicate that glucocorticoids (GC) induce lipid accumulation in visceral depots, while inhibiting lipid stores from subcutaneous depots. Whereas some suggest that this is due to adipose depot specific concentration of glucocorticoid receptors (GR) or 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase 1 (11β-HSD1), others demonstrate these events emerge from increases in interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β) from macrophages within distinct depots. Regardless of the mechanisms, most of these studies occur in males and thus lack evaluation of sex differences. Here, we examined the impact of 2-week corticosterone (CORT) (3 mg/kg/day) or saline treatment on GR, 11β-HSD1 and IL-1β protein concentration in intra-abdominal (epididymal/parametrial, and visceral) and subcutaneous (inguinal) depots in male and female Sprague Dawley rats. The objective was to examine if factors that regulate GC-induced adipose depot metabolism and distribution, differ between males and females. CORT inhibited, but did not decrease, body weight gain in both sexes. 11β-HSD1 was similar between the sexes in all adipose depots. CORT increased IL-1β in both sexes only in gonadal adipose tissue. Overall, males had greater GR protein concentration in all adipose depots, whereas females had more IL-1β in intra-abdominal adipose depots. Given the male-biased increase in intra-abdominal GR protein concentration, the data suggest that males may be more prone to CORT-induced increases in visceral obesity, which may have implications for increased risk for metabolic diseases. Overall, the data suggest that the effects of GC signaling in adipose tissue are multifaceted, dependent on sex, and the inherent adipocyte characteristics.Lay summaryResearch supports that glucocorticoids (GC) induce visceral adipose tissue accumulation, however few studies have examined if these GC-mediated outcomes are similar between males and females. This study investigates if female rats differentially respond to corticosterone treatment. Results indicate that male rats may have an increased susceptibility to CORT-induced accumulation of visceral adipose tissue compared with females, which may have implication for sex-specific risk for metabolic diseases.

中文翻译：

---

糖皮质激素以贮库和性别特异性方式调节脂肪组织蛋白浓度。

临床前和临床发现表明，糖皮质激素（GC）诱导内脏贮库中的脂质蓄积，同时抑制皮下贮库中的脂质存储。有人认为这是由于脂肪库中特定浓度的糖皮质激素受体（GR）或11β-羟类固醇脱氢酶1（11β-HSD1）引起的，而另一些人则表明这些事件是由白细胞介素1β（IL-1β）的巨噬细胞增多引起的不同的仓库。无论采用哪种机制，这些研究大多数都发生在男性中，因此缺乏对性别差异的评估。在这里，我们检查了为期2周的皮质酮（CORT）（3 mg / kg /天）或生理盐水处理对腹腔内（附睾/宫旁膜和内脏）的GR，11β-HSD1和IL-1β蛋白浓度的影响，以及雄性和雌性Sprague Dawley大鼠的皮下（腹膜）贮库。目的是检查男性和女性之间调节GC诱导的脂肪库代谢和分布的因素是否不同。CORT抑制但不降低男女的体重增加。在所有脂肪库中，男女之间的11β-HSD1相似。CORT仅在性腺脂肪组织中增加男女的IL-1β。总体而言，雄性在所有脂肪库中都具有较高的GR蛋白浓度，而雌性在腹内脂肪库中具有更多的IL-1β。考虑到男性偏向腹内GR蛋白浓度的增加，数据表明男性可能更倾向于CORT诱导的内脏肥胖增加，这可能会增加代谢疾病的风险。总体而言，数据表明，GC信号在脂肪组织中的作用是多方面的，具体取决于性别，总结性研究支持糖皮质激素（GC）诱导内脏脂肪组织的积累，但是很少有研究检查这些GC介导的结果在男性和女性之间是否相似。这项研究调查了雌性大鼠是否对皮质酮治疗有不同的反应。结果表明，与雌性大鼠相比，雄性大鼠对CORT诱导的内脏脂肪组织蓄积的敏感性更高，这可能对代谢性疾病具有性别特异性风险。这项研究调查了雌性大鼠是否对皮质酮治疗有不同的反应。结果表明，与雌性大鼠相比，雄性大鼠对CORT诱导的内脏脂肪组织蓄积的敏感性更高，这可能对代谢性疾病具有性别特异性风险。这项研究调查了雌性大鼠是否对皮质酮治疗有不同的反应。结果表明，与雌性大鼠相比，雄性大鼠对CORT诱导的内脏脂肪组织蓄积的敏感性更高，这可能对代谢性疾病具有性别特异性风险。