Journal of Lipid Research, Vol 30, 711-718, Copyright © 1989 by Lipid Research, Inc.
Deoxycholate 7 alpha-hydroxylase in the hamster: substrate specificity and effect of phenobarbital
H Yamashita, S Kuroki and F Nakayama
Department of Surgery I, Kyushu University Faculty of Medicine, Fukuoka, Japan.
In a recent publication, we reported that deoxycholic acid is 7 alpha-
hydroxylated to yield glycocholate or taurocholate in vivo in the hamster
(1987. Kuroki et al. Hepatology. 7: 229-234). In order to explore the
possibility that amidation of free deoxycholic acid precedes the 7
alpha-hydroxylation, we assayed 7 alpha-hydroxylase activities of free and
conjugated deoxycholates in vitro. 7 alpha- Hydroxylase activities of
glycodeoxycholate and taurodeoxycholate were 720 +/- 132 and 640 +/- 160
pmol/mg.min-1, respectively. Activity of 7 alpha-hydroxylation of free
deoxycholate was very low (60 +/- 20 pmol/mg.min-1). After treatment with
phenobarbital in a dose of 100 mg/kg per day for 6 days, 7
alpha-hydroxylase activities of conjugated deoxycholates were decreased
significantly (40%, P less than 0.01, n = 8), whereas that of free
deoxycholate was not significantly changed. In the rat, 7 alpha-hydroxylase
activities of conjugated deoxycholates were induced significantly (45%
increase, P less than 0.05, n = 5) by phenobarbital treatment in sharp
contrast to the hamster. There were significant correlations between the 7
alpha-hydroxylase activity of taurodeoxycholate and that of
glycodeoxycholate both in the hamster and in the rat (hamsters: n = 16, r =
0.98, P less than 0.01; rats: n = 10, r = 0.82, P less than 0.01). These
studies suggested that deoxycholic acid is 7 alpha-hydroxylated after
amidation with glycine or taurine in vivo and that the same enzyme may well
catalyze the 7 alpha- hydroxylation of glycodeoxycholate and
taurodeoxycholate in the hamster.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)