Reaction: cortisol = 11β-hydroxyandrostenedione + glycolaldehyde
Other name(s): steroid-17,20-desmolase; steroid transketolase; desAB (gene names)
Systematic name: cortisol glycolaldehyde-lyase [11β-hydroxyandrostenedione-forming]
Comments: Requires thiamine diphosphoate and Mn2+. The enzyme, characterized from the bacterium Clostridium scindens, removes the side-chain of 17,21-dihydroxy 20-oxosteroids. The enzyme has been shown to act on cortisol, 11-desoxycortisol, and prednisone.
Links to other databases: BRENDA, EXPASY, KEGG, MetaCyc, CAS registry number:
References:
1. Bokkenheuser, V.D., Winter, J., Morris, G.N. and Locascio, S. Steroid desmolase synthesis by Eubacterium desmolans and Clostridium cadavaris. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 52 (1986) 1153-1156. [PMID: 3466571]
2. Krafft, A.E., Winter, J., Bokkenheuser, V.D. and Hylemon, P.B. Cofactor requirements of steroid-17-20-desmolase and 20α-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase activities in cell extracts of Clostridium scindens. J. Steroid Biochem. 28 (1987) 49-54. [PMID: 3475510]
3. Devendran, S., Mythen, S.M. and Ridlon, J.M. The desA and desB genes from Clostridium scindens ATCC 35704 encode steroid-17,20-desmolase. J. Lipid Res. 59 (2018) 1005-1014. [PMID: 29572237]
4. Ly, L.K., Rowles, J.L., 3rd, Paul, H.M., Alves, J.MP., Yemm, C., Wolf, P.M., Devendran, S., Hudson, M.E., Morris, D.J., Erdman, J.W., Jr. and Ridlon, J.M. Bacterial steroid-17,20-desmolase is a taxonomically rare enzymatic pathway that converts prednisone to 1,4-androstanediene-3,11,17-trione, a metabolite that causes proliferation of prostate cancer cells. J. Steroid Biochem. Mol. Biol. 199 (2020) 105567. [PMID: 31870912]