My. Zhou et al., CLONING, EXPRESSION, AND TISSUE DISTRIBUTION OF THE RAT NICOTINAMIDE ADENINE DINUCLEOTIDE-DEPENDENT 11-BETA-HYDROXYSTEROID DEHYDROGENASE, Endocrinology, 136(9), 1995, pp. 3729-3734
A pcDNAI adult rat kidney complementary DNA (cDNA) library was screene
d using a sheep 11-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase 2 (11 beta HSD-2) prob
e, and the isolated clones were sequenced. The 5'-end of the cDNA was
determined by 5'-rapid amplification of cDNA ends. The rat 11 beta HSD
-2 cDNA is 1864 base pair (bp) long. It consists of a 5'-untranslated
region of 126 bp, an open reading frame of 1203 bp, and a 3'-untransla
ted region of 535 bp. The predicted protein contains 400 amino acid re
sidues, with a calculated mol wt of 43,700. The rat 11 beta HSD-2 prot
ein sequence is 85% homologous to human 11 beta HSD-2 and 76% to sheep
11 beta HSD-2. Expression of 11 beta HSD-2 messenger RNA by Northern
blot and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction was high in k
idney, distal colon, and adrenal and lower in the lung, hypothalamus,
hippocampus, and midbrain. The rat 11 beta HSD-2 was transiently trans
fected into modified Chinese hamster ovary cells. Cells transfected wi
th the 11 beta HSD-2 cDNA converted corticosterone into 11-dehydrocort
icosterone. Conversion of corticosterone to 11-dehydrocorticosterone w
as NAD(+) dependent and had a K-m of 10.1 +/- 2.1 nM. In conclusion, w
e have cloned a rat NAD(+)-dependent 11 beta HSD with tissue distribut
ion and kinetic characteristics suggesting that it could play a signif
icant role in mineralocorticoid receptor selectivity.