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The Journal of Clinical Investigation logoLink to The Journal of Clinical Investigation
. 1992 Jan;89(1):293–300. doi: 10.1172/JCI115574

Genetic and pharmacological evidence for more than one human steroid 5 alpha-reductase.

E P Jenkins 1, S Andersson 1, J Imperato-McGinley 1, J D Wilson 1, D W Russell 1
PMCID: PMC442847  PMID: 1345916

Abstract

The enzyme steroid 5 alpha-reductase catalyzes the conversion of testosterone into the more potent androgen, dihydrotestosterone, and impairment of this reaction causes a form of male pseudohermaphroditism in which genetic males differentiate predominantly as phenotypic females. We previously isolated cDNA clones that encode a human steroid 5 alpha-reductase enzyme. Here, we report molecular and genetic studies demonstrating that the gene encoding this cDNA is normal in subjects with the genetic disease steroid 5 alpha-reductase deficiency. We further show that in contrast to the major steroid 5 alpha-reductase in the prostate and cultured skin fibroblasts, the cDNA-encoded enzyme exhibits a neutral to basic pH optima and is much less sensitive to inhibition by the 4-aza steroid, finasteride (MK-906). The results provide genetic, biochemical, and pharmacological support for the existence of at least two steroid 5 alpha-reductase isozymes in man.

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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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