Journal of Lipid Research, Vol 23, 145-153, Copyright © 1982 by Lipid Research, Inc.
7 beta-Dehydroxylation of ursodeoxycholic acid by whole cells and cell extracts of the intestinal anaerobic bacterium, Eubacterium species V.P.I. 12708
BA White, RJ Fricke and PB Hylemon
Whole cells and cell extracts of Eubacterium species V. P. I. 12708 7-
dehydroxylated [3H]ursodeoxycholic acid or [14C]chenodeoxycholic forming
lithocholic acid. 7 beta-Dehydroxylation specific activity was 146 and 386
nmol hr-1 mg protein-1 for cell extracts and whole cells, respectively. 7
alpha- or 7 beta-Dehydroxylation activity was detected only in whole cells
or cell extracts prepared from cultures grown in the presence of cholic
acid. The addition of NAD+ (0.5 mM) to anaerobically dialyzed cell extracts
stimulated 7 beta- and 7 alpha- dehydroxylation activity by 5- and 40-fold,
respectively. The level of 7 beta-dehydroxylation specific activity was
approximately 3- to 5-fold lower than 7 alpha-dehydroxylation in whole
cells and 3-fold lower in cell extracts. Substrate saturation kinetics for
ursodeoxycholic acid and chenodeoxycholic acid were hyperbolic and showed
substrate inhibition at concentrations above 200 microM. The apparent Km
values for ursodeoxycholic and chenodeoxycholic acid were 14.5 microM and
49 microM, respectively. Both 7 alpha- and 7 beta-dehydroxylase activities
were inactivated (60% to 70%) by heating for 6 min at 45 degrees C.
Moreover, both activities co-eluted from a anaerobic Bio-Gel A 1.5-M column
as a single peak at approximately 114,000 (Mr). These data show that this
intestinal anaerobic bacterium has both 7 alpha- and 7 beta- dehydroxylase
activities which may be catalyzed by the same enzyme.U