Expression patterns of 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase 14 in human tissues

17βHSD enzymes catalyze the stereospecific oxidation/reduction at carbon 17β of androgens and estrogens, and are important players in intracrine sex hormone synthesis. The biological relevance of 17βHSD14, first named retSDR3, is largely unknown. We generated and validated an antibody targeting the 17βHSD14 antigen and used this for immunohistochemical evaluation of expression patterns in 33 healthy human tissues. Furthermore, sex steroid conversional activity in HSD17B14 overexpressing HEK293 and MCF10A cells was investigated by assessing interconversion products of estrone, estradiol, androstenedione, testosterone, and dehydroepiandrosterone. Immunohistochemical staining patterns of 17βHSD14 with the enzyme being primarily expressed in glandular epithelial tissue reveal an enzyme with possible implications in the secretion or conversion of externally derived compounds. A role for 17βHSD14 in sex steroid metabolism is supported by the finding that 17HSD14 oxidizes both estradiol and testosterone into less bioactive steroid metabolites estrone and androstenedione, respectively.