Biosynthesis of Steroids

SYNTHETIC STEROIDS In addition to the many hundreds of steroids isolated from plants and animals, thousands more have been synthesized in pharmaceutical laboratories in a search for new drugs. Among the hest-known synthetic steroids are oral contraceptives and anabolic agents. Most birth-control pills are a mixture of two compounds, a synthetic estrogen, such as ethynyl-estradiol, and a synthetic progestin, such as norethindrone. Anabolic steroids, such as methandrostenolone (Dianahol), are synthetic androgens that mimic the tissue-building effects of natural testosterone. 

FIGURE 23.15 Proposed mechanism ofthe oxidation ofsquaiene by flavin hydroperoxide. 

STEPS 1-2 OF FIGURE 23.16 EPOXIDE OPENING AND INITIAL CYCLIZATIONS 

Cyclization begins in step 1 with protonation of the epoxide ring by an aspartic acid residue in the enzyme. Nucleophilic opening of the protonated epoxide by the nearby 5,10 double bond (steroid numbering Section 23.8) then yields a tertiary carbocation at CIO. Further addition of CIO to the 8,9 double bond in step 2 next gives a bicyclic tertiary cation at C8. 

STEP 3 OF FIGURE 23.16 THIRD CYCLIZATION The third cationic cyclization is unusual because it occurs with non-Markovnikov regiochemistry and gives a secondary cation at C13 rather than the alternative tertiary cation at C14. 

Lynen would share the 1964 Nobel Prize in chemistry for their achievements in elucidating steroid and terpene biosynthesis and related studies. During the 1950s, Luis Leloir (1906-87), an Argentinean biochemist, made enormous breakthroughs in the biosynthesis of sugars and sugar nucleotides for which he would win the 1970 Nobel Prize in chemistry. 

Throughout the 1950s, Melvin Calvin continued to employ carbon-14 labeling in his studies of the fate of carbon in photosynthesis (see chapter 5). He completed the photosynthetic carbon cycle ( Calvin cycle ) in 1958 and received the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1961. 

While total synthesis of a complex molecule is like a hero s climb up a tall mountain, the development of new reactions of synthetic 

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Mevalonic acid (Section 26.10) An intermediate in the biosynthesis of steroids from acetyl coenzyme A. 

Cholesterol is a widely distributed sterol found free or esterified to fatty acids. It is an important intermediate in the biosynthesis of steroid hormones and the principal component of cell plasma membranes and the membranes of intracellular organelles. 

Processes of this kind are important in the biosynthesis of steroids and tetra- and pentacyclic terpenes. For example, squalene 2,3-oxide is converted by enzymatic catalysis to dammaradienol. 

The tetracyclic alcohol 179 is produced by the action of boron trifluoride etherate or tin(IV) chloride on the oxirane 178 (equation 85)95. A similar cyclization of the oxirane 180 yields DL-<5-amyrin (181) (equation 86)96. In the SnCLt-catalysed ring-closure of the tetraene 182 to the all-fraws-tetracycle 183 (equation 87) seven asymmetric centres are created, yet only two of sixty-four possible racemates are formed97. It has been proposed that multiple ring-closures of this kind form the basis of the biosynthesis of steroids and tetra-and pentacyclic triterpenoids, the Stork-Eschenmoser hypothesis 98,99. Such biomimetic polyene cyclizations, e.g. the formation of lanosterol from squalene (equation 88), have been reviewed69,70. 

By far the most impressive example of electrophilic addition in natural prodnct formation is in the biosynthesis of steroids. The snbstrate sqnalene oxide is cyclized to lanosterol in a process catalysed by a single enzyme. Lanosterol is then converted into the primary animal-steroid cholesterol. Sqnalene oxide comes from sqnalene, which is itself formed throngh a combination of two molecules of farnesyl diphosphate. 

Cyt P450 systems are also involved in many other metabolic processes—e.g., the biosynthesis of steroid hormones (see p. 172), bile acids (see p. 314), and eicosanoids (see p. 390), as well as the formation of unsaturated fatty acids (see p. 409). The liver s reddish-brown color is mainly due to the large amounts of P450 enzymes it contains. 

Congenital defects in the biosynthesis of steroid hormones can lead to severe developmental disturbances, in the adrenogenital syndrome (AGS), which is relatively common, there is usually a defect in 21-hydroxylase, which is needed for synthesis of cortisol and aldosterone from progesterone. Reduced synthesis of this hormone leads to increased formation of testosterone, resulting in masculin-ization of female fetuses. With early diagnosis, this condition can be avoided by providing the mother with hormone treatment before birth. 

Contraction of smooth muscle Biosynthesis of steroid hormones Gastric juice secretion... 

In addition, it will be our intention to present a deeper insight into the biosynthesis of steroid hormones, which will allow definition of new targets and approaches for the treatment of endocrine-responsive cancer. Enzymes involved in mechanisms of steroid hormone biosynthesis might be novel targets for endocrine therapy. Moreover, further therapeutic indications for modulators of steroid hormone receptors will be discussed. In summary, many promising new opportunities for endocrine therapy of breast and prostate cancer are now arising. 

The biosynthesis of steroids is complex, as one wonld expect since all the compounds in this group must be derived from a single precnrsor (cholesterol (5.4)). The primary sonrce of all the compounds involved in steroid synthesis is acetate, in the form of acetyl-coenzyme A. Cholesterol, besides being ingested in food, is synthesized in large amounts, and an adnlt human contains about 250 g of cholesterol. In contrast, the steroid hormones are produced at the milligram level or lower. 

Cytochromes P450 are monooxygenases whose cosubstrates, often NADH or NADPH, deliver electrons to the active center heme via a separate flavoprotein and often via an iron-sulfur protein as well 476a b A typical reaction (Eq. 18-55) is the 11 (3-hydroxylation of a steroid, an essential step in the biosynthesis of steroid hormones (Fig. 22-11). The hydroxyl group is introduced without inversion of configuration. The same enzyme converts unsaturated derivatives to epoxides (Eq. 18-56), while other cytochromes P450... 

B-64MI22402 J. H. Richards and J. B. Hendrickson The Biosynthesis of Steroids, Terpenes... 

The biosynthesis of steroids begins with the conversion of three molecules of acetyl-CoA into mevalon-ate, the decarboxylation of mevalonate, and its conversion to isopentenyl pyrophosphate. Six molecules of isopentenyl pyrophosphate are polymerized into squalene, which is cyclized to yield lanosterol. Lanos-terol is converted to cholesterol, which is the precursor of bile acids and steroid hormones. 

In polyenes even tandem additions are possible. The best known and the most impressive example is the biosynthesis of steroid structures from squalene or squalene epoxide (Figures 14.12 and 14.13). The corresponding biomimetic syntheses of the steroid structure are simply beautiful. 

Nature often provides excellent suggestions about how to synthesize a compound. After the pathway for the biosynthesis of steroids by cationic cyclization of polyenes was determined, Professor William S. Johnson and coworkers at Stanford University used a very similar reaction to synthesize progesterone. The last part of this synthesis is outlined in the following equations. Alcohol A was prepared in 12 steps with an overall yield of 10%. It was then cyclized to form the steroid ring system. 

STEROID HORMONE-PRODUCING GLANDS 16.3.1 Biosynthesis of Steroid Hormones... 

The pathway of biosynthesis of steroids in the adrenal cortex 1.5.1. The enzymes of steroidogenesis... 

The Opening of Squalene-2,3-Epoxide Steroids are tetracyclic compounds that serve a wide variety of biological functions, including hormones (sex hormones), emulsifiers (bile acids), and membrane components (cholesterol). The biosynthesis of steroids is believed to involve an acid-catalyzed opening of squalene-2,3-epoxide (Figure 14-6). Squalene is a member of the class of natural products called terpenes (see Section 25-8). The enzyme squalene epoxidase oxidizes squalene to the epoxide,... 

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