Phytoestrogens as inhibitors of the human progesterone metabolizing enzyme AKR1C1.

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Brozic P, Smuc T, Gobec S, Rizner TL

Phytoestrogens as inhibitors of the human progesterone metabolizing enzyme AKR1C1.

Mol Cell Endocrinol. 2006 Oct 19;259(1-2):30-42. Epub 2006 Sep 8.

PubMed ID

16962702 [ View in PubMed

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Abstract

Phytoestrogens are plant-derived, non-steroidal constituents of our diets. They can act as agonists or antagonists of estrogen receptors, and they can modulate the activities of the key enzymes in estrogen biosynthesis. Much less is known about their actions on the androgen and progesterone metabolizing enzymes. We have examined the inhibitory action of phytoestrogens on the key human progesterone-metabolizing enzyme, 20alpha-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (AKR1C1). This enzyme inactivates progesterone and the neuroactive 3alpha,5alpha-tetrahydroprogesterone, to form their less active counterparts, 20alpha-hydroxyprogesterone and 5alpha-pregnane-3alpha,20alpha-diol, respectively. We overexpressed recombinant human AKR1C1 in Escherichia coli, purified it to homogeneity, and examined the selected phytoestrogens as inhibitors of NADPH-dependent reduction of a common AKR substrate, 9,10-phenantrenequinone, and progesterone. The most potent inhibitors were 7-hydroxyflavone, 3,7-dihydroxyflavone and flavanone naringenin with IC(50) values in the low microM range. Docking of the flavones in the active site of AKR1C1 revealed their possible binding modes, in which they are sandwiched between the Leu308 and Trp227 of AKR1C1.

DrugBank Data that Cites this Article

Drug Targets

Drug	Target	Kind	Organism	Pharmacological Action	Actions
Naringenin	Aldo-keto reductase family 1 member C1	Protein	Humans	Unknown	Antagonist	Details