Corticosteroid 11-β-dehydrogenase isozyme 2 also known as 11-β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase 2 is an enzyme

Enzyme

Enzymes are proteins that catalyze chemical reactions. In enzymatic reactions, the molecules at the beginning of the process, called substrates, are converted into different molecules, called products. Almost all chemical reactions in a biological cell need enzymes in order to occur at rates...

 that in humans is encoded by the HSD11B2 gene

Gene

A gene is a molecular unit of heredity of a living organism. It is a name given to some stretches of DNA and RNA that code for a type of protein or for an RNA chain that has a function in the organism. Living beings depend on genes, as they specify all proteins and functional RNA chains...

.

Function

Corticosteroid 11-β-dehydrogenase isozyme 2 is an NAD⁺-dependent enzyme expressed in aldosterone

Aldosterone

Aldosterone is a hormone that increases the reabsorption of sodium ions and water and the release of potassium in the collecting ducts and distal convoluted tubule of the kidneys' functional unit, the nephron. This increases blood volume and, therefore, increases blood pressure. Drugs that...

-selective epithelial tissues such as the kidney, colon, salivary and sweat glands. HSD211B2 expression is also found in the brainstem in a small, aldosterone-sensitive subset of neurons located in the nucleus of the solitary tract.

In these tissues, HSD11B2 oxidizes the glucocorticoid cortisol

Cortisol

Cortisol is a steroid hormone, more specifically a glucocorticoid, produced by the adrenal gland. It is released in response to stress and a low level of blood glucocorticoids. Its primary functions are to increase blood sugar through gluconeogenesis; suppress the immune system; and aid in fat,...

 to the inactive metabolite cortisone

Cortisone

Cortisone is a steroid hormone. It is one of the main hormones released by the adrenal gland in response to stress. In chemical structure, it is a corticosteroid closely related to corticosterone. It is used to treat a variety of ailments and can be administered intravenously, orally,...

, thus preventing illicit activation of the mineralocorticoid receptor

Mineralocorticoid receptor

The mineralocorticoid receptor , also known as the aldosterone receptor or nuclear receptor subfamily 3, group C, member 2, is a protein that in humans is encoded by the NR3C2 gene that is located on chromosome 4q31.1-31.2.MR is a receptor with high affinity for mineralocorticoids...

. This protective mechanism is necessary because cortisol circulates at 100-1000-fold higher concentrations than aldosterone, and binds with equal affinity to the mineralocorticoid receptor, thereby out-competing aldosterone in cells that do not produce HSD11B2.

This glucocorticoid-inactivating enzyme is also expressed in tissues that do not express the mineralocorticoid receptor, such as the placenta and testis, as well as parts of the developing brain, including the rhombencephalic progentitor cells that proliferate into cerebellar granule cells. In these tissues, HSD11B2 protects cells from the growth-inhibiting and/or pro-apoptotic effects of cortisol, particularly during embryonic development.

Clinical significance

Inhibition of this enzyme, for example by a compound in liquorice, results in a condition known as pseudohyperaldosteronism

Pseudohyperaldosteronism

Pseudohyperaldosteronism is a medical condition that mimics hyperaldosteronism. Like hyperaldosteronism, it produces hypertension associated with low plasma renin activity, and metabolic alkalosis associated with hypokalemia...

. An genetically inherited deficiency of HSD11B2 is the underlying cause of the syndrome of apparent mineralocorticoid excess.

Further reading