Reply To Liu Et Al.: Hypothalamic Control Of Islets

Liu et al. make several comments and suggestions (1) on our publication (2) in which we studied primarily the role of hypothalamic releasing hormones corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) and growth hormone-releasing hormone on islet function. The occurrence of HSD enzymes in rodent and human pancreatic islets has been shown by various groups. Although most of these groups have studied and discussed the role of 11β-HSD1 and steroid action with respect to β-cell function and insulin release, one study suggests a primary role of α-cells in pancreatic islets (3). Our study (2) demonstrated mRNA and protein expression of 11β-HSD1 in rodent and human islets and in β-cell line INS-1, as well as …