19-Hydroxylation of 18-hydroxy-11-deoxycorticosterone catalyzed by cytochrome P-45011 beta of bovine adrenocortex.

When 18-hydroxy-11-deoxycorticosterone was incubated with adrenocortical mitochondria fortified by adding exogenously adrenodoxin reductase and adrenodoxin in the presence of an NADPH-generating system, the steroid was converted to two products which were separated by high performance liquid chromatography. The retention time of one product was identical with that of 18-hydroxycorticosterone, an expected product of 11 beta-hydroxylation, whereas the retention time of the other was not coincident with those of any other corticosteroids examined. Production of the unidentified substance was also shown when 18-hydroxy-11-deoxycorticosterone was incubated with purified cytochrome P-45011 beta and its electron transport system. The ratio of the two products was always constant, even when various incubation conditions were employed with regard to reaction time, the substrate concentration, and the cytochrome concentration. Structural determination of the unidentified product was conducted by mass spectrometry and 1H NMR spectrometry. The results of these analyses indicated that the substance was 18,19-dihydroxy-11-deoxycorticosterone, a hitherto unreported corticosteroid.