7�\-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (7�\-HSDH) can catalyse the oxidation of C7 �\-OH of the steroid nucleus in the bile acid metabolism. In the paper we determined the crystal structure of 7�\-HSDH from Clostridium absonum (CA 7�\-HSDH) complexed with taurochenodeoxycholic acid (TCDCA) and NADP(+) by X-ray diffraction, which, as a tetramer, possesses the typical �\/�] folding pattern. The four subunits of an asymmetric unit lie in the fact that there are the stable hydrophobic interactions between Q-axis-related subunits. Significantly, we captured an active state of the NADP(+), confirming that nicotinamide moiety of NADP(+) act as electron carrier in the dehydrogenation. On the basis of crystal structure analysis, site-directed mutagenesis and MD simulation, furthermore, we find that the guanidinium of Arg38 can form the stable cation-�k interaction with the adenine ring of NADP(+), and the cation-�k interaction and hydrogen bonds between Arg38 and NADP(+) have a significant anchor effect on the cofactor binding to CA 7�\-HSDH.

Promoters which function in Gram-positive organisms show, with few exceptions, remarkable conservation of sequences identical with those in Escherichia coli. An E. coli system was tested to select putative promoters of two anaerobes, the Gram-positive Clostridium absonum and the Gram-negative Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron. Random restriction fragments of chromosomal DNA from these organisms were fused to the galactokinase (galK) gene of E. coli within a plasmid vector. Approximately 10% of these fragments functioned as promoters in E. coli, and a broad range of activities was evident. A single 88 base pair (bp) C. absonum DNA fragment yielded, in the E. coli plasmid vector, approximately the same high activity as that provided by the E. coli galK promoter. Sequence analysis of this fragment showed typical -35 and -10 sequences, with about five -10-like sequences closely flanking each other, some overlapping, and this appears to result in multiple start sites for transcription. The transcriptions of E. coli plasmid fragments in vitro with both E. coli RNA polymerase and C. absonum RNA polymerase showed pairs of transcripts corresponding to two start sites. By colony hybridization with the 88 bp fragment, radioactively labelled, as a probe, a 4.2 kilobase segment of C. absonum chromosomal DNA containing the 88 bp fragment was isolated. About 375 bp of this fragment was sequenced. A putative Shine-Dalgarno sequence and ATG start site were detected, followed by an opening reading frame. Using a sequence about 100 bp downstream from the 88 bp sequence, a 17-base oligonucleotide was synthesized to serve as a primer. With C. absonum RNA as a template, a reverse transcriptase primer extension assay located a pair of transcription start sites just downstream from the 88 bp sequence, proving that the 88 bp sequence functions as a promoter in C. absonum.

Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate-dependent 7�\-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (7�\-HSDH) and 7�]-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases (7�]-HSDH) from Clostridium absonum catalyze the epimerization of primary bile acids through 7-keto bile acid intermediates and may be suitable as biocatalysts for the synthesis of bile acids derivatives of pharmacological interest. C. absonum 7�\-HSDH has been purified to homogeneity and the N-terminal sequence has been determined by Edman sequencing. After PCR amplifications of a gene fragment with degenerate primers, cloning of the complete gene (786 nt) has been achieved by sequencing of C. absonum genomic DNA. The sequence coding for the 7�]-HSDH (783 nt) has been obtained by sequencing of the genomic DNA region flanking the 5' termini of 7�\-HSDH gene, the two genes being contiguous and presumably part of the same operon. After insertion in suitable expression vectors, both HSDHs have been successfully produced in recombinant form in Escherichia coli, purified by affinity chromatography and submitted to kinetic analysis for determination of Michaelis constants (K (m)) and specificity constants (k (cat)/K (m)) in the presence of various bile acids derivatives. Both enzymes showed a very strong substrate inhibition with all the tested substrates. The lowest K (S) values were observed with chenodeoxycholic acid and 12-ketochenodeoxycholic acid as substrates in the case of 7�\-HSDH, whereas ursocholic acid was the most effective inhibitor of 7�]-HSDH activity.