Conversion of chenodeoxycholic acid to cholic acid by human CYP8B1

Abstract The human cytochrome P450 enzyme CYP8B1 is a crucial regulator of the balance of cholic acid (CA) and chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA) in the liver. It was previously shown to catalyze the conversion of 7α-hydroxycholest-4-en-3-one, a CDCA precursor, to 7α,12α-dihydroxycholest-4-en-3-one, which is an intermediate of CA biosynthesis. In this study we demonstrate that CYP8B1 can also convert CDCA itself to CA. We also show that five derivatives of luciferin are metabolized by CYP8B1 and established a rapid and convenient inhibitor test system. In this way we were able to identify four new CYP8B1 inhibitors, which are aminobenzotriazole, exemestane, ketoconazole and letrozole.