Coffee's antidiabetic activity may be due in part to its ability to inhibit the reactivation of hyperglycemic glucorticoids, e.g. cortisol. - GreenMedInfo Summary
Coffee inhibits the reactivation of glucocorticoids by 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1: a glucocorticoid connection in the anti-diabetic action of coffee?
FEBS Lett. 2006 Jul 24;580(17):4081-5. Epub 2006 Jun 27. PMID: 16814782
Division of Nephrology and Hypertension, Department of Clinical Research, University of Berne, Freiburgstrasse 15, 3010 Berne, Switzerland.
Recent epidemiological studies demonstrated a beneficial effect of coffee consumption for the prevention of type 2 diabetes, however, the underlying mechanisms remained unknown. We demonstrate that coffee extract, corresponding to an Italian Espresso, inhibits recombinant and endogenous 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11beta-HSD1) activity. The inhibitory component is heat-stable with considerable polarity. Coffee extract blocked 11beta-HSD1-dependent cortisol formation, prevented the subsequent nuclear translocation of the glucocorticoid receptor and abolished glucocorticoid-induced expression of the key gluconeogenic enzyme phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase. We suggest that at least part of the anti-diabetic effects of coffee consumption is due to inhibition of 11beta-HSD1-dependent glucocorticoid reactivation.