title: Characterization of type 12 17beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase, an isoform of type 3 17beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase responsible for estradiol formation in women.
abstract: A novel 17beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (17beta-HSD) chronologically named type 12 17beta-HSD (17beta-HSD12), that transforms estrone (E1) into estradiol (E2) was identified by sequence similarity with type 3 17beta-HSD (17beta-HSD3) that catalyzes the formation of testosterone from androstenedione in the testis. Both are encoded by large genes spanning 11 exons, most of them showing identical size. Using human embryonic kidney-293 cells stably expressing 17beta-HSD12, we have found that the enzyme catalyzes selectively and efficiently the transformation of E1 into E2, thus identifying its role in estrogen formation, in contrast with 17beta-HSD3, the enzyme involved in the biosynthesis of the androgen testosterone in the testis. Using real-time PCR to quantify mRNA in a series of human tissues, the expression levels of 17beta-HSD12 as well as two other enzymes that perform the same transformation of E1 into E2, namely type 1 17beta-HSD and type 7 17beta-HSD, it was found that 17beta-HSD12 mRNA is the most highly expressed in the ovary and mammary gland. To obtain a better understanding of the structural basis of the difference in substrate specificity between 17beta-HSD3 and 17beta-HSD12, we have performed tridimensional structure modelization using the coordinates of type 1 17beta-HSD and site-directed mutagenesis. The results show the potential role of bulky amino acid F234 in 17beta-HSD12 that blocks the entrance of androstenedione. Overall, our results strongly suggest that 17beta-HSD12 is the major estrogenic 17beta-HSD responsible for the conversion of E1 to E2 in women, especially in the ovary, the predominant source of estrogens before menopause.
authors.affiliation: Oncology and Molecular Endocrinology Research Center, Laval University Medical Center, Quebec, Canada G1V 4G2.
authors.forename: Van
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Luu-The
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tremblay
authors.forename: Fernand
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Labrie
mesh_terms: D015067:17-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenases / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D004958:Estradiol / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011487:Protein Conformation; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D013379:Substrate Specificity; D014018:Tissue Distribution
chemical_list: D004958:Estradiol; D015067:17-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenases; C476565:17beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 3