Complete amino acid sequence of human placental 17 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase deduced from cDNA

cDNA clones for 17 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (17-HSD; EC 1.1.1.62) were isolated from a placental lambda gt11 expression library using polyclonal antibodies against placental 17-HSD. The largest cDNA contained 1325 nucleotides, consisting of a short 5'-noncoding segment, a coding segment of 987 nucleotides terminated by a TAA codon, and a 329 nucleotide long 3'-noncoding segment. The open reading frame encoded a polypeptide of 327 amino acid residues with a predicted Mr of 34853. The amino acid sequence of 23 N-terminal amino acids determined from purified 17-HSD agreed with the sequence deduced from cDNA. The deduced amino acid sequence also contained two peptides previously characterized from the proposed catalytic area of placental 17-HSD.