title: Gas chromatography-mass spectrometric study of 19-oxygenation of the aromatase inhibitor 19-methylandrostenedione with human placental microsomes.
abstract: To gain insight into the catalytic function of aromatase, we studied 19-oxygenation of 19-methyl-substituted derivative of the natural substrate androstenedione (AD), compound 1, with human placental aromatase by use of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Incubation of the 19-methyl derivative 1 with human placental microsomes in the presence of NADPH under an aerobic condition did not yield a detectable amount of [19S]19-hydroxy product 2 or its [19R]-isomer 3 when the product was analyzed as the bis-methoxime-trimethylsilyl (TMS) derivative by GC-MS; moreover, the production of estrogen was not detected as the bis-TMS derivative of estradiol (detection limit: about 3 ng and 10 pg per injection for the 19-ol and estradiol, respectively). The results reveal that the 19-methyl steroid 1 does not serve as a substrate of aromatase, although it does serve as a powerful inhibitor of the enzyme.
authors.affiliation: Tohoku Pharmaceutical University, Sendai, Japan. numazawa@tohoku-pharm.ac.jp
authors.forename: Mitsuteru
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Numazawa
authors.forename: Masao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nagaoka
authors.forename: Wakako
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Handa
authors.forename: Akane
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yamada
mesh_terms: D000735:Androstenedione / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001141:Aromatase / Q000378:metabolism*; D047072:Aromatase Inhibitors / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D006801:Humans; D008861:Microsomes / Q000201:enzymology*; D015394:Molecular Structure; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D010100:Oxygen / Q000378:metabolism*; D010920:Placenta / Q000201:enzymology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D013379:Substrate Specificity
chemical_list: C546904:19-methylandrost-4-ene-3,17-dione; D047072:Aromatase Inhibitors; D000735:Androstenedione; D001141:Aromatase; D010100:Oxygen