Browsing by Subject "4-hydroxyestradiol"

Estradiol is a female sex hormone which is metabolized to two different catechol estradiols. 2-hydroxyestradiol (2-OHE2) is normally the major catechol estradiol metabolite but breast cancer patients have increased amounts of genotoxic 4-hydroxyestradiol (4-OHE2) and it arises to predominant metabolite with these patients. These catechol estradiols can form reactive quinones that can bind to DNA and lead to mutations and finally cause cancer. Catechol-O-methyl transferase can add methyl groups and UDP-glucuronosyl transferase (UGT) glucuronic acid groups to catechol estradiols. These phase II enzymes play important role in the inactivation of catechol estradiols because only non-conjugated catechol estradiols can be oxidized to quinones. The aim of this study was to find out which human UGTs catalyze glucuronidation of 2-OHE2 or 4-OHE2, how many different glucuronides are formed and in which part of the substrate glucuronic acid is added. To answer these questions chromatography methods for 2-OHE2 and 4-OHE2 glucuronides were developed using HPLC. Eleven UGT-enzymes glucuronidate 2-OHE2. UGTs 1A1, 1A7 and 1A10 form two different glucuronides and UGTs 1A3, 1A8, 1A9, 2A1, 2A2, 2A3, 2B7 and 2B15 form only the second glucuronide. It was possible to detect three different glucuronides for 4-OHE2 but the amount of the first glucuronide was under quantification limit. UGT1A10 catalyzed the formation of the second glucuronide and UGTs 1A7, 1A8, 1A9, 2B7 and 2B15 catalyzed the formation of the last glucuronide. One aim of the study was to find out which part of the substrate is glucuronidated but this aim was not achieved because suitable standards were not available.