Results: The 2.20 Angstrom resolution structure of type I 17 beta-HSD, the first mammalian steroidogenic enzyme studied by X-ray crystallographic techniques, reveals a fold characteristic of the short-chain dehydrogenases. The active site contains a Tyr-X-X-X-Lys sequence (where X is any amino acid) and a serine residue, features that are conserved in short-chain steroid dehydrogenases. The structure also contains three alpha-helices and a helix-turn-helix motif, not observed in short-chain dehydrogenase structures reported previously. No cofactor density could be located.

Conclusions: The helices present in 17 beta-HSD that were not in the two previous short-chain dehydrogenase structures are located at one end of the substrate-binding cleft away from the catalytic triad. These helices restrict access to the active site and appear to influence substrate specificity. Modeling the position of estradiol in the active site suggests that a histidine side chain may play a critical role in substrate recognition. One or more of these helices may also be involved in the reported association of the enzyme with membranes. A model for steroid and cofactor binding as well as for the estrone to estradiol transition state is proposed. The structure of the active site provides a rational basis for designing more specific inhibitors of this breast cancer associated enzyme.