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. 1977 Nov;34(5):571–575. doi: 10.1128/aem.34.5.571-575.1977

Isolation and characterization of human fecal bacteria capable of 21-dehydroxylating corticoids.

V D Bokkenheuser, J Winter, P Dehazya, W G Kelly
PMCID: PMC242702  PMID: 303887

Abstract

It has been known for a decade that human intestinal flora include organisms capable of 21-dehydroxylating corticoids. Yet the identity of the organisms synthesizing 21-dehydroxylase has remained unknown. Using diluted human feces, we determined the prevalence of colonies of 21-dehydroxylating organisms on a variety of media. Isolation from the medium of colonies with the highest prevalence yielded an obligate anaerobe capable of 21-dehydroxylating deoxycorticosterone and tetrahydrodeoxycorticosterone. This transformation could be carried out in a prereduced medium by the microbial culture alone or in an aerobic medium reduced by growth of Escherichia coli. The culture shares many characteristics with Eubacterium lentum, the neotype strain of which elaborated both 21-dehydroxylase and 3alpha-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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