Genomic organization and chromosomal localization of a novel human hepatic dihydrodiol dehydrogenase with high affinity bile acid binding.
We previously characterized and cloned a unique human hepatic dihydrodiol dehydrogenase (DDH) that exhibits high affinity binding for bile acids (Stolz, A., Hammond, L., Lou, H., Takikawa, H., Ronk, M., and Shively, J. E. (1993) J. Biol. Chem. 268, 10448-10457). This hepatic dihydrodiol dehydrogenase demonstrates significant sequence homology with the cytosolic rat bile acid binder 3 alpha-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase and other members of the monomeric oxidoreductase gene family. We now report the genomic organization and chromosomal localization of the human hepatic DDH in order to further define its physiological role and provide additional insight into the development of this gene family. The 15-kilobase human hepatic DDH gene was contained in an overlapping cosmid and lambda genomic clones and is composed of nine exons. A major transcriptional start site was determined to be 30 base pairs upstream from the ATG initiation methionine by both primer extension and S1 nuclease mapping studies. The human hepatic DDH gene was mapped by chromosomal in situ hybridization and analysis of human-mouse somatic cell hybrids to the tip of the short arm of chromosome 10 at p14. Strict conservation of the intron-exon junctions in the human hepatic DDH and two other members of the monomeric oxidoreductase gene family, aldose reductase and mouse major vas deferens protein suggests evolution from a common ancestral gene. Human hepatic DDH mRNA was identified in both human hepatoma Hep G2 and human lung carcinoma cell line NCI-H322 by RN'ase protection; thus, these cell lines will be useful in examining the regulation of the gene.