Rozman D
Medical Center for Molecular Biology, Institute of Biochemistry, Medical Faculty University of Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Pflugers Arch. 2000;439(3 Suppl):R56-7.
CYP51 is an evolutionarily conserved, housekeeping gene of the cytochrome P450 superfamily which is involved in cholesterol biosynthesis in animals. The two intermediates of cholesterol biosynthetis pathway, sterol FF-MAS, produced by CYP51 and the following sterol T-MAS, accumulate in follicular fluid and in testis. CYP51 is expressed in all tissues in mammals with the highest level in the testis. In rat, expression peaks in postmeiotic male germ cells of the testis. Promoters of the human and rat CYP51 genes contain SRE and CRE elements which indicate two main regulatory routes--the sterol-dependent regulation and the cAMP-dependent regulation. While feedback regulation by sterols is characteristic for all genes involved in cholesterol biosynthesis and homeostasis, the cAMP-dependent regulation is unique, indicating that CYP51 may play tissue-specific roles distinct from cholesterol biosynthesis.
CYP51是一种细胞色素P450超家族中进化保守的管家基因，参与动物体内胆固醇的生物合成。胆固醇生物合成途径的两个中间体，即由CYP51产生的甾醇FF-MAS及其后的甾醇T-MAS，在卵泡液和睾丸中积累。CYP51在哺乳动物的所有组织中均有表达，在睾丸中的表达水平最高。在大鼠中，表达在睾丸减数分裂后的雄性生殖细胞中达到峰值。人类和大鼠CYP51基因的启动子含有SRE和CRE元件，这表明存在两条主要的调控途径——甾醇依赖性调控和cAMP依赖性调控。虽然甾醇的反馈调控是所有参与胆固醇生物合成和稳态的基因的特征，但cAMP依赖性调控是独特的，这表明CYP51可能发挥与胆固醇生物合成不同的组织特异性作用。
