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Query: UMLS:C0338671 (Steroids)
 9,479 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The in vitro metabolism of 7-3H-5-androstenediol by the pituitary, some brain structures, and ventral prostate of adult castrated male rat was studied. Conversion of 5-androstenediol to radiochemically pure testosterone was demonstrated in all tissues studied in the presence of a NADPH generating system. Formation of dihydrotestosterone and dehydroepiandrosterone was also detected. The higher conversion rates were found in the pituitary, hypothalamus and mesencephalic tegmentum. These results demonstrate the presence of 3beta-hydroxy steroid oxidoreductase, delta4- delta5 isomerase, 5alpha-reductase, and 17beta-ol dehydrogenase in the rat brain which may in part explain the behavioral and brain virilization effects of 5-androstenediol.
Steroids 1977 May
PMID:In vitro conversion of 5-androstenediol to testosterone by the central nervous system and pituitary of the male rat. 14 88

Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) is a technique especially suitable for the analysis and characterization of steroids, and its power has been extensively demonstrated. The efficacy of GC-MS is limited, nevertheless, by the fact that steroid mixtures - whether of natural origin only, or augmented by synthetic analogs - often contain similar components that are poorly distinquished. The fortuitous overlap of gas chromatographic peaks from disparate compounds also impairs the definition of retention data. Controlled modification of the sample by means of selective reactions is therefore a valuable adjunct to the application of GC-MS. Two examples are discussed: (a) the enzyme cholesterol oxidase, isolated from various microorganisms, catalyzes the oxidation of many 3 beta-hydroxy-5-enes (with concomitant isomerization) to 4-en-3-ones; 3 beta-hydroxy-5 alpha-steroids are also oxidized to the corresponding 3-ones, but other steroids (3 alpha-hydroxy- or 5 beta-isomers, etc.) are unaffected. The mild conditions required (pH 7, 30 C) are advantageous for the analysis of sensitive steroids, and the retention index increments, as well as the mass spectra of the ketones, are characteristic. The enzyme accepts as substrates a wide range of 3 beta-hydroxysteroids, tolerating oxygenation in ring B and even catalyzing the oxidation of 2-oxacholesterol to the expected lactone; and (b) Steroids possessing 1,2-diol or 1,3-diol groupings include estriols, 2-hydroxyestrone, 20,22-dihydroxycholesterols, ecdysones, brassinolide and many corticosteroids. The selective formation of cyclic derivatives can provide several analytically useful features, such as convenient retention times, moderate mass increments (24 amu for a methaneboronate), distinctive mass spectra and usually abundant molecular ions. These are exemplified for 5-pregnene-3 beta, 20,21-triols and for 20,22-dihydroxycholesterol as well as its enzymic oxidation product.
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PMID:Selective reactions in the analysis and characterization of steroids by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. 742 29

The initial biosynthetic conversions of cholesterol to the bile acids involve sequential 7 alpha-hydroxylation (catalyzed by cholesterol 7 alpha-hydroxylase) followed by C-3 oxidation and concomitant double bond migration (to a delta 4-configuration, catalyzed by 3 beta-delta 5-C27-steroid oxidoreductase) to provide 7 alpha-hydroxycholest-4-en-3-one. A straightforward, and economical, preparation (on a 0.1 g scale) of this pivotal biosynthetic intermediate has been devised. Reduction of 3 beta-(benzoyloxy)-cholest-5-en-7-one with LiB(sec-butyl)3H provided a 4:1 mixture, respectively, of the 7 alpha- and 7 beta-hydroxy diastereomers, which were separated chromatographically. Solvolytic removal of the C-3 benzoyl group gave 3 beta,7 alpha-cholest-5-ene-3,7-diol. A suspension of the 1:1 (v/v) complex (formed by mutual dissolution in MeOH, followed by evaporation of the solvent) of this diol with hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin, at a concentration of 1 mg mL-1 (in neutral phosphate buffer), was converted by Brevibacterium sp cholesterol oxidase (0.25 U mg-1 of substrate) and catalase (70 U mg-1 of substrate, to recover O2 from the H2O2 produced by the enzymatic oxidation) to a suspension of 7 alpha-hydroxycholest-4-en-3-one and the hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin. The yield for the enzymatic conversion was in excess of 90%. A much poorer and less reproducible yield (< 20%) was seen in the absence of the hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin. Routine extraction of this aqueous suspension, and chromatographic purification (85:15 CHCl3/acetone v/v on silica) of the residue, gave pure 7 alpha-hydroxycholest-4-en-3-one in 68% isolated yield. This route is a significant improvement, in terms of reaction scale and convenience, over the previous procedures for the preparation of this steroid.
Steroids 1995 Mar
PMID:A convenient synthesis of 7 alpha-hydroxycholest-4-en-3-one by the hydroxypropyl-beta-cyclodextrin-facilitated cholesterol oxidase oxidation of 3 beta,7 alpha-cholest-5-ene-3,7-diol. 779 34

In connection with studies of alternative pathways in bile acid biosynthesis, potential intermediates in a pathway starting with 27-hydroxylation of cholesterol have been prepared in natural and deuterated forms. Established methods were used to prepare 27-hydroxycholesterol and 3 beta-hydroxy-5-cholestenoic acid. Clemmensen reduction of kryptogenin in unlabeled and deuterated solvents yielded 27-hydroxy-cholesterol and 16-oxo-5-cholestene-3 beta,27-diol, which were separated by adsorption chromatography on Unisil. The labeled 27-hydroxycholesterol and 3 beta-hydroxy-5-cholestenoic acid derived from it consisted of molecules with seven (50%), six (20%), and eight (20%) deuterium atoms, and unlabeled molecules were not detected. The acetates of 27-hydroxycholesterol and methyl 3 beta-hydroxy-5-cholestenoate were 7 alpha-hydroxylated in a copper-catalyzed reaction with tert-butylperbenzoate, and the products were purified by chromatography on Unisil. The 7 beta-epimers were obtained as side products. Labeled 3 beta,7 alpha-dihydroxy-5-cholenoic acid was prepared in the same way from 3 beta-hydroxy-5-[2,2,4,4,23-2H5]-cholenoic acid. The 3-oxo-delta 4 analogs of the 3 beta-hydroxy-delta 5 compounds were prepared by oxidation with cholesterol oxidase. The labeled products had the same isotopic composition as the starting materials. Gas chromatographic retention indices and mass spectral characteristics of the trimethylsilyl ether derivatives of the neutral steroids and the methylated acids are given for all compounds.
Steroids 1993 Mar
PMID:Synthesis of potential C27-intermediates in bile acid biosynthesis and their deuterium-labeled analogs. 847 16

Cholesterol is oxidized by commercially available Pseudomonas fluorescens cholesterol oxidase to 6 beta-hydroperoxycholest-4-en-3-one as the initial product, with none of the expected produce, cholest-4-en-3-one, formed. The transformation indicates that P. fluorescens cholesterol oxidase also acts as a flavoprotein dioxygenase.
Steroids 1996 Nov
PMID:Sterol peroxidation by Pseudomonas fluorescens cholesterol oxidase. 891 55

Although 7 beta-hydroxytestosterone is a known product of hepatic androgen metabolism, there are no published methods for its chemical synthesis except from the equally difficult to obtain 7 beta-hydroxy-4-androstene-3,17-dione. We found that several seemingly straightforward routes for its synthesis failed. Consequently, we tried to produce 7 beta-hydroxytestosterone by enzymatic oxidation of 5-androstene-3 beta, 7 beta, 17 beta-triol with cholesterol oxidase (Brevibacterium sp.), a procedure previously used to synthesize 7 beta-hydroxy-4-cholesten-3-one from 3 beta, 7 beta-dihydroxycholesterol (Alexander and Fisher 1995). However, 5-androstene-3 beta, 7 beta, 17 beta-triol was, at best, a very poor substrate for the enzyme leading to the production of 7 beta-hydroxytestosterone in only trace amounts. Thus, we explored a strategy for the enzymatic synthesis in which a C8-ester at C-17 (5-androstene-3 beta, 7 beta, 17 beta-triol 17-caprylate) would serve to mimic the bulky and hydrophobic side chain of cholesterol and thus allow the C19-steroid to act as an effective substrate. When this ester was incubated with cholesterol oxidase, it was converted efficiently to 7 beta-hydroxytestosterone-17-caprylate. Attempts to remove the ester group by several mild hydrolytic procedures caused elimination of the 7 beta-hydroxyl group; we, therefore, obtained 7 beta-hydroxytestosterone by incubation of the intermediate ester with porcine lipase.
Steroids 1997 Jun
PMID:A direct stereoselective synthesis of 7 beta-hydroxytestosterone. 918 96

Radioimmunoassay (RIA) is the most prevalent method for measuring small amounts of hormones, peptides, and other compounds in human body fluids. The method, however, has several problems, such as cross reactions or non-specific reactions of the antibody used. In order to establish an improved method for assaying dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) and cholesterol, which are the largest components of human breast cyst and duct fluids, we describe a simple, accurate, and sensitive method using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The samples were treated with cholesterol oxidase for quantitation of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and free cholesterol, and the respective oxidized substances, 4-androstene-3,17-dione and 4-cholesten-3-one, were extracted with n-hexane. The extracts were analyzed by straight phase HPLC. Effluents were monitored by measuring absorption at 240 nm, where a newly introduced chromophoric group, an alpha,beta-unsaturated ketone, showed intense absorption (epsilon = 16,000). When the total amount of DHEA (DHEAS plus DHEA) was measured, the sample had been solvolyzed by sulfatase beforehand. The amounts of DHEAS were quantified by comparing the amounts of DHEA before and after solvolysis. Levels of free cholesterol, DHEAS, and DHEA in human breast cyst fluids (n = 30) were 1.77 +/- 1.12 mmol/dl, 8.27 +/- 10.24 micromol/dl, and 0.02 +/- 0.02 micromol/dl (means +/- SD), respectively. The levels of sterol and steroid measured in breast duct fluids that were turbid, brown, dark green, or milky in color (n = 9) (mean levels, 3.20 +/- 2.97 mmol/dl for free cholesterol and 14.77 +/- 13.75 micromol/dl for DHEAS) were significantly (P < 0.01) higher than the levels in clear or serous breast fluids (n = 21) (mean levels, 0.14 +/- 0.13 mmol/dl for free cholesterol and 0.04 +/- 0.07 micromol/dl for DHEAS).
Steroids 2002 Apr
PMID:A simple, accurate, and sensitive assay method of dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate: application for quantitative determination in human breast cyst and duct fluids. 1195 88

Pregnane-3,17 alpha,20-triols bearing unsaturation at delta(7), delta(8), delta(5,7), or delta(5,8) have been tentatively identified as steroid metabolites in Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome (SLOS). Starting with 17 alpha-hydroxypregnenolone diacetate, we have synthesized 13 unsaturated C(21) triols by four different routes in one to four steps. These multifunctional steroids were prepared by a series of regio- and stereoselective transformations chosen to minimize facile olefin isomerization and 17-deoxygenation. The results include a study of stereoselectivity in the reduction of 17 alpha-hydroxy-20-ketosteroids, an alternative method for reducing diethyl azodicarboxylate adducts of delta(5,7) steroids, and an efficient oxidation-isomerization of a delta(5,7) steroid using cholesterol oxidase. The 13 triols and their synthetic precursors were fully characterized by 1H and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The NMR data, together with molecular modeling, indicated unanticipated conformational heterogeneity for two synthetic intermediates, 17 alpha-hydroxypregna-4,7-diene-3,20-dione and 17 alpha-hydroxy-5 beta-pregn-7-ene-3,20-dione. The unsaturated C(21) triols are useful as reference standards to study adrenal steroid production in SLOS and to develop methods for pre- and postnatal diagnosis of this congenital disorder.
Steroids 2003 Jan
PMID:Chemical synthesis of 7- and 8-dehydro derivatives of pregnane-3,17alpha,20-triols, potential steroid metabolites in Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome. 1247 21

Urinary steroid profile analysis requires enzymatic hydrolysis of glucuronide and sulfate conjugates and this is achieved simultaneously using Helix pomatia juice (HPJ), but steroids with 3beta-hydroxy-5-ene structure undergo transformation and yield of 5alpha-reduced corticosteroid glucuronides is poor. We describe the use of sodium ascorbate to solve these problems and provide a basis for its mode of action. Steroid conjugates were extracted from urine, hydrolyzed in acetate buffer with HPJ and sodium ascorbate and analyzed as methyloxime-trimethylsilylether derivatives by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Ranges of temperature, pH and ascorbate, substrate and HPJ concentrations were compared for urine and pure standards. Activity of other antioxidants and that of bacterial cholesterol oxidase were examined. Helix pomatia enzyme preparations from different commercial sources were compared. Loss of 3beta-hydroxy-5-ene steroids was enzyme-dependant, since it required HPJ, was saturable, subject to substrate competition and heat-inactivated. Products were 3-oxo-4-ene steroids and 4,6-diene and 6-oxy derivatives of these but the latter were not formed from 3-oxo-4-ene precursors. Ascorbate, other antioxidants or oxygen exclusion diminished activity. These characteristics were shared by cholesterol oxidase. Yield of 5alpha-reduced steroids was diminished by pre-incubation of HPJ before ascorbate addition and this was reversed if ascorbate was added to the pre-incubation mixture. We conclude that transformation of 3beta-hydroxy-5-ene steroids by HPJ is due to cholesterol oxidase and is diminished by antioxidants or oxygen denial. Yield of 5alpha-reduced steroids is low due to oxidative damage of beta-glucuronidase during hydrolysis, prevented by ascorbate. These features are shared by most commercial Helix pomatia enzyme preparations tested.
Steroids 2008 Mar
PMID:Sodium ascorbate improves yield of urinary steroids during hydrolysis with Helix pomatia juice. 1817 10