Biomaterial Database

3 alpha-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase: three dimensional structure and gene regulation. 1996

T M Penning

Department of Pharmacology, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia 19104 6084, USA.

Mammalian 3 alpha-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases (3 alpha-HSDs) regulate steroid hormone levels. cDNA cloning indicates that the rat and human liver isoforms display high sequence identity and that they belong to the aldo-keto reductase (AKR) superfamily. Of these the most extensively characterized is rat liver 3 alpha-HSD. The recently solved X-ray crystal structure shows that this enzyme adopts an (alpha/beta)8-barrel scaffold (Hoog et al. 1994). NAD(P)H binds in an extended anti-conformation and lies along the inner surface of the barrel. The nicotinamide ring is stabilized by interaction with Y216. The 4-pro(R)-hydrogen transferred in the reaction is in close proximity to Y55. K84, D50 and H117 which are implicated in catalysis. These residues are located at the base of a hydrophobic pocket which is presumed to be involved in binding steroid hormone. This catalytic tetrad is conserved in members of the AKR superfamily. Mutant enzymes support roles for Y55 in steroid binding and for K84 as the general acid involved in catalysis. The gene for rat 3 alpha-HSD has been cloned and is 47 kb in length and contains 9 exon-intron boundaries which are highly conserved in the human gene(s). The 5'-flanking regions of the rat and human genes contain consensus sequences for AP-1, Oct-1 and multiple copies of perfect and imperfect steroid hormone response elements (REs) (estrogen, glucocorticoid (GRE), and progesterone) which may comprise a steroid response unit (SRU) (Lin & Penning 1995). Constitutive and regulated expression of the rat 3 alpha-HSD gene has been studied by transiently transfecting reporter gene (chloramphenicol acetyltransferase, CAT) constructs into human hepatoma (HepG2) cells. With respect to the transcription start-site (+1), a proximal (-498 to -199bp) and distal (-20 to -4.0kb) enhancer, as well as a powerful silencer (-755 to -498 bp) were located in the promoter. Band-shift and supershift assays provide evidence that Oct-1 binds to the silencer. Tandem repeats of the imperfect proximal and distal GREs that reside in the SRU were inserted into tk-CAT vectors and transiently transfected. Stimulation of transfected cells with dexamethasone resulted in robust CAT activity. These data indicate that glucocorticoids may positively regulate transcription of the rat 3 alpha-HSD gene from the SRU.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008099	Liver	A large lobed glandular organ in the abdomen of vertebrates that is responsible for detoxification, metabolism, synthesis and storage of various substances.	Livers
D008969	Molecular Sequence Data	Descriptions of specific amino acid, carbohydrate, or nucleotide sequences which have appeared in the published literature and/or are deposited in and maintained by databanks such as GENBANK, European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), National Biomedical Research Foundation (NBRF), or other sequence repositories.	Sequence Data, Molecular,Molecular Sequencing Data,Data, Molecular Sequence,Data, Molecular Sequencing,Sequencing Data, Molecular
D010084	Oxidation-Reduction	A chemical reaction in which an electron is transferred from one molecule to another. The electron-donating molecule is the reducing agent or reductant; the electron-accepting molecule is the oxidizing agent or oxidant. Reducing and oxidizing agents function as conjugate reductant-oxidant pairs or redox pairs (Lehninger, Principles of Biochemistry, 1982, p471).	Redox,Oxidation Reduction
D003907	Dexamethasone	An anti-inflammatory 9-fluoro-glucocorticoid.	Hexadecadrol,Decaject,Decaject-L.A.,Decameth,Decaspray,Dexasone,Dexpak,Hexadrol,Maxidex,Methylfluorprednisolone,Millicorten,Oradexon,Decaject L.A.
D005786	Gene Expression Regulation	Any of the processes by which nuclear, cytoplasmic, or intercellular factors influence the differential control (induction or repression) of gene action at the level of transcription or translation.	Gene Action Regulation,Regulation of Gene Expression,Expression Regulation, Gene,Regulation, Gene Action,Regulation, Gene Expression
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000595	Amino Acid Sequence	The order of amino acids as they occur in a polypeptide chain. This is referred to as the primary structure of proteins. It is of fundamental importance in determining PROTEIN CONFORMATION.	Protein Structure, Primary,Amino Acid Sequences,Sequence, Amino Acid,Sequences, Amino Acid,Primary Protein Structure,Primary Protein Structures,Protein Structures, Primary,Structure, Primary Protein,Structures, Primary Protein
D000818	Animals	Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA.	Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D014158	Transcription, Genetic	The biosynthesis of RNA carried out on a template of DNA. The biosynthesis of DNA from an RNA template is called REVERSE TRANSCRIPTION.	Genetic Transcription
D015096	3-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenases	Catalyze the oxidation of 3-hydroxysteroids to 3-ketosteroids.	3-beta-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenase,3 Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenases,3 beta Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenase,Dehydrogenase, 3-beta-Hydroxysteroid,Dehydrogenases, 3 Hydroxysteroid,Dehydrogenases, 3-Hydroxysteroid,Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenases, 3