1Both authors have equally contributed to this publication.

Glucocorticoid action within the cells is regulated by the expression levels of the glucocorticoid receptor and two enzymes, 11ß hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase types 1 and 2. Thus, 11-ß dehydrogenase type 1 activates glucocorticoid action, whereas 11-ß dehydrogenase type 2 regulates the access of 11-β hydroxyglucocorticoids to the mineralocorticoid receptor by converting cortisol/corticosterone to the glucocorticoid-inactive form cortisone / dehydrocorticosterone. Male Wistar rats developed obesity by being fed on a high-fat diet for 56 days, and were compared with control-diet fed animals. Gene expression analysis of 11-ß hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2, 11-ß hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1, and glucocorticoid receptor were performed by RT-PCR in subcutaneous and retroperitoneal adipose tissue. High-fat fed animals overexpressed 11-ß hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 in subcutaneous adipose tissue, but not in retroperitoneal fat pad. Interestingly, mRNA levels strongly correlated in both tissues with different parameters related to obesity, such as body weight, adiposity or insulin resistance, suggesting that this gene is a reliable marker of adiposity in this model of overweight in rats. These results state that 11-ß hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 is expressed in adipose tissue by adipocytes and stromal-vascular cells, and suggest that this enzyme could play an important role i