Characterization of human 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase/Δ5-Δ4-isomerase gene and its expression in mammalian cells

Three β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase/Δ5-Δ4-isomerase (3β-HSD) catalyze the oxidative conversion of Δ5-3β-hydroxysteroids to the Δ4-3-keto configuration and is therefore essential for the biosynthesis of all classes of hormonal steroids, namely progesterone, glucocorticoids, mineralocorticoids, androgens, and estrogens. Using human 3β-HSD cDNA as probe, a human 3β-HSD gene was isolated from a λ-EMBL3 library of leucocyte genomic DNA. A fragment of 3β-HSD genomic DNA was also obtained by amplification of genomic DNA using the polymerase chain reaction. The 3β-HSD gene contains a 5′-untranslated exon of 53 base pairs (bp) and three successive translated exons of 232, 165, and 1218 bp, respectively, separated by introns of 129, 3883, and 2162 bp. The transcription start site is situated 267 nucleotides upstream from the ATG initiating codon. DNA sequence analysis of the 5′-flanking region reveals the existence of a putative TATA box (ATAAA) situated 28 nucleotides upstream from the transcription start site while a putative CAAT binding sequence is located 57 nucleotides upstream from the TATA box. Expression of a cDNA insert containing the coding region of 3β-HSD in nonsteroidogenic cells shows that the gene encodes a single 42-kDa protein containing both 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase and Δ5-Δ4-isomerase activities. Moreover, all natural steroid substrates tested are transformed with comparable efficiency by the enzyme. In addition to its importance for studies of the regulation of expression of 3β-HSD in gonadal as well as peripheral tissues, knowledge of the structure of the human 3β-HSD gene should permit investigation of the molecular defects responsible for 3β-HSD deficiency, the second most common cause of adrenal hyperplasia in children.

Evidence for distinct dehydrogenase and isomerase sites within a single 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase/5-ene-4-ene isomerase protein

Complementary DNA encoding human 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase/5-ene-4-ene isomerase (30-HSD) has been expressed in transfected GH4C1 with use of the cytomegalovirus promoter. The activity of the expressed protein clearly shows that both dehydrogenase and isomerase enzymatic activities are present within a single protein. However, such findings do not indicate whether the two activities reside within one or two closely related catalytic sites. With use of [3H]-5-androstenedione, the intermediate compound in dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) transformation into 4-androstenedione by 3β-HSD, the present study shows that 4MA (N,N-diethyl-4-rnethyl-3-oxo-4-aza-5α-androstane-17β-carboxamide) and its analogues inhibit DHEA oxidation competitively while they exert a noncompetitive inhibition of the isomerization of 5-androstenedione to 4-androstenedione with an approximately 1000-fold higher Ki value. The present results thus strongly suggest that dehydrogenase and isomerase activities are present at separate sites on the 3β-HSD protein. In addition, using 5α-dihydrotestosterone (DHT) and 5α-androstane-3β,17β-diol as substrates for dehydrogenase activity only, we have found that dehydrogenase activity is reversibly and competitively inhibited by 4MA. Such data suggest that the irreversible step in the transformation of DHEA to 4-androstenedione is due to a separate site possessing isomerase activity that converts the 5-ene-3-keto to a much more stable 4-ene-3-keto configuration. © 1991 American Chemical Society.

Expression of liver-specific member of the 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase family, an isoform possessing an almost exclusive 3-ketosteroid reductase activity

We have recently characterized two types of rat 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase/Δ5-Δ4 isomerase (3β-HSD) isoenzymes expressed in adrenals and gonads. In addition, we have cloned a third type of cDNA encoding a predicted type III 3β-HSD protein specifically expressed in the male rat liver which shares 80% similarity with the two other isoenzymes. Transient expression in human HeLa cells of the cDNAs reveals that the type III 3β-HSD protein does not display oxidative activity for the classical substrates of 3β-HSD, in contrast to the type I 3β-HSD isoenzyme. However, in the presence of NADH, type III isoenzyme, in common with the type I isoform, converts 5α-androstane-3,17-dione (A-dione) and 5α-dihydrotestosterone (DHT) to the corresponding 3β-hydroxysteroids. In fact, the type I and the type III isoenzymes have the same affinity for DHT with K(m) values of 5.05 and 6.16 μM, respectively. When NADPH is used as cofactor, the affinity for DHT of the type III isoform becomes higher than that of the type I isoform with K(m) values of 0.12 and 1.18 μM, respectively. The type III isoform is thus a 3-ketoreductase using NADPH as preferred cofactor which is responsible for the conversion of 3-keto-saturated steroids such as DHT and A-dione into less active steroids.

Androgenic 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase activity of expressed rat type I 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase/Δ5-Δ4 isomerase

Transient expression in nonsteroidogenic mammalian cells of the rat wild type I and type II 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase/Δ5-Δ4-isomerase (3β- HSD) cDNAs shows that the encoded proteins, in addition to being able to catalyze the oxidation and isomerization of Δ5-3β-hydroxysteroid precursors into the corresponding Δ4-3-ketosteroids, interconvert 5α- dihydrotestosterone (DHT) and 5α-androstane-3β,17β-diol (3β-diol). When homogenate from cells transfected with a plasmid vector containing type I 3β-HSD is incubated in the presence of DHT using NAD+ as cofactor, a somewhat unexpected metabolite is formed, namely 5α-androstanedione (A- dione), thus indicating an intrinsic androgenic 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (17β-HSD) activity of this 3β-HSD isoform. Although the relative Vmax of 17β-HSD activity is 14.9-fold lower than that of 3β-HSD activity, the Km value for the 17β-HSD activity of type I 3β-HSD is 7.97 μM, a value which is in the same range as the conversion of DHT into 3β- diol which shows a Km value of 4.02 μM. Interestingly, this 17β-HSD activity is highly predominant in unbroken cells in culture, thus supporting the physiological relevance of this 'secondary' activity. Such 17β-HSD activity is inhibited by the classical substrates of 3β-HSD, namely pregnenolone (PREG), dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), Δ5-androstene-3β,17β- diol (Δ5-diol), 5α-androstane-3β,17β-diol (3β-diol) and DHT, with IC50 values of 2.7, 1.0, 3.2, 6.2, and 6.3 μM, respectively. Although dual enzymatic activities have been previously reported for purified preparations of other steroidogenic enzymes, the present data demonstrate the multifunctional enzymatic activities associated with a recombinant oxidoreductase enzyme. In addition to its well known 3β-HSD activity, this enzyme possesses the ability to catalyze DHT into A-dione thus potentially controlling the level of the active androgen DHT in classical steroidogenic as well as peripheral intracrine tissues.