'Liver-type' 11 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase cDNA encodes reductase but not dehydrogenase activity in intact mammalian COS-7 cells.

11 beta-Hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (11 beta-HSD) catalyses the metabolism of corticosterone to inert 11-dehydrocorticosterone, thus preventing glucocorticoid access to otherwise non-selective renal mineralocorticoid receptors (MRs), producing aldosterone selectivity in vivo. At least two isoforms of 11 beta-HSD exist. One isoform (11 beta-HSD1) has been purified from rat liver and an encoding cDNA cloned from a rat liver library. Transfection of rat 11 beta-HSD1 cDNA into amphibian cells with a mineralocorticoid phenotype encodes 11 beta-reductase activity (activation of inert 11-dehydrocorticosterone) suggesting that 11 beta-HSD1 does not have the necessary properties to protect renal MRs from exposure to glucocorticoids. This function is likely to reside in a second 11 beta-HSD isoform. 11 beta-HSD1 is co-localized with glucocorticoid receptors (GRs) and may modulate glucocorticoid access to this receptor type. To examine the predominant direction of 11 beta-HSD1 activity in intact mammalian cells, and the possible role of 11 beta-HSD in regulating glucocorticoid access to GRs, we transfected rat 11 beta-HSD1 cDNA into a mammalian kidney-derived cell system (COS-7) which has little endogenous 11 beta-HSD activity or mRNA expression. Homogenates of COS-7 cells transfected with increasing amounts of 11 beta-HSD cDNA exhibited a dose-related increase in 11 beta-dehydrogenase activity. In contrast, intact cells did not convert corticosterone to 11-dehydrocorticosterone over 24 h, but showed a clear dose-related 11 beta-reductase activity, apparent within 4 h of addition of 11-dehydrocorticosterone to the medium.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)