The invention relates to novel 7-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases which are obtainable from bacteria of the genus Collinsella, especially of the strain Collinsella aerofaciens, to the sequences encoding said enzymes, to methods for producing said enzymes and to their use in the enzymatic conversion of cholic acid compounds, and especially in the production of ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCS). The invention also relates to novel methods for the synthesis UDCS.

The invention relates to novel 7-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases which are obtainable from bacteria of the genus Collinsella, especially of the strain Collinsella aerofaciens, to the sequences encoding said enzymes, to methods for producing said enzymes and to their use in the enzymatic conversion of cholic acid compounds, and especially in the production of ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCS). The invention also relates to novel methods for the synthesis UDCS.

Generally, the present invention relates to the field of steroid hydroxylation. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method for the 21-hydroxylation of steroids in cells. It also relates to cells expressing a steroid 21-hydroxylating enzyme or steroid 21-hydroxylase, expression vectors comprising a nucleic acid encoding for a steroid 21-hydroxylase and a kit for carrying out the method for the 21-hydroxylation of steroids in cells.

Generally, the present invention relates to the field of steroid hydroxylation. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method for the 21-hydroxylation of steroids in cells. It also relates to cells expressing a steroid 21-hydroxylating enzyme or steroid 21-hydroxylase, expression vectors comprising a nucleic acid encoding for a steroid 21-hydroxylase and a kit for carrying out the method for the 21-hydroxylation of steroids in cells.

The present disclosure discloses a method for producing 9-hydroxy androstane-4-alkene-3,17-diketone by enzymatic conversion, and belongs to the fields of gene engineering and enzyme engineering. According to the present disclosure, oxidation subunit KshA, reduction subunit KshB and unknown active subunit KshC of 3-ketosteroid-9-hydroxylase sourcing from Mycobacterium sp. Strain VKM Ac-1817D are successfully expressed in E. coli BL21, and KshC is identified as an oxidation subunit, the enzyme activity of which is far higher than that of KshA. BL21/pET-28a(+)-fdh constructed in the laboratory is used for expressing formate dehydrogenase (FDH), and by using crude enzyme liquid of KSH (KshB+KshC) and FDH engineering bacteria as a biocatalyst and a steroidal compound (AD) as a substrate, optimum reaction temperature is determined as 30 C. and optimum pH is determined as 7.0. In optimum conditions, AD is converted to produce a product 9-OH-AD, and within 20 hours, the output of 9-OH-AD is 4.7 g/L, and the molar conversion rate reaches 96.7%. According to the present disclosure, in production of 9-OH-AD, coupling of a 3-ketosteroid-9-hydroxylase hydroxylation system and a coenzyme recycling system is realized, and the method has the advantages of being high in efficiency, low in cost, green, environmentally friendly and the like.

The present disclosure discloses a method for producing 9-hydroxy androstane-4-alkene-3,17-diketone by enzymatic conversion, and belongs to the fields of gene engineering and enzyme engineering. According to the present disclosure, oxidation subunit KshA, reduction subunit KshB and unknown active subunit KshC of 3-ketosteroid-9-hydroxylase sourcing from Mycobacterium sp. Strain VKM Ac-1817D are successfully expressed in E. coli BL21, and KshC is identified as an oxidation subunit, the enzyme activity of which is far higher than that of KshA. BL21/pET-28a(+)-fdh constructed in the laboratory is used for expressing formate dehydrogenase (FDH), and by using crude enzyme liquid of KSH (KshB+KshC) and FDH engineering bacteria as a biocatalyst and a steroidal compound (AD) as a substrate, optimum reaction temperature is determined as 30 C. and optimum pH is determined as 7.0. In optimum conditions, AD is converted to produce a product 9-OH-AD, and within 20 hours, the output of 9-OH-AD is 4.7 g/L, and the molar conversion rate reaches 96.7%. According to the present disclosure, in production of 9-OH-AD, coupling of a 3-ketosteroid-9-hydroxylase hydroxylation system and a coenzyme recycling system is realized, and the method has the advantages of being high in efficiency, low in cost, green, environmentally friendly and the like.

The present invention relates to a method of preparing a steroid comprising the step of converting a 7-deoxysteroid with a cytochrome P450 enzyme or a functional variant thereof in the presence of at least one redox partner system and a system for regenerating the redox partner system.

The present invention relates to a method of preparing a steroid comprising the step of converting a 7-deoxysteroid with a cytochrome P450 enzyme or a functional variant thereof in the presence of at least one redox partner system and a system for regenerating the redox partner system.

It is intended to provide a novel terpenoid derivative that exhibits anti-inflammatory action and a cytoprotective action by activating the Keap1/Nrf2/ARE signaling pathway. The present invention provides terpenoid derivative A represented by the following formula (I): ##STR00001##

It is intended to provide a novel terpenoid derivative that exhibits anti-inflammatory action and a cytoprotective action by activating the Keap1/Nrf2/ARE signaling pathway. The present invention provides terpenoid derivative A represented by the following formula (I): ##STR00001##