Sulfotransferase (ST) enzymes catalyze the sulfate conjugation of many hormones, neurotransmitters, drugs, and xenobiotic compounds. These reactions result in enhanced renal excretion of the sulfate-conjugated reaction products, but they can also lead to the formation of "bioactivated" metabolites. ST enzymes are members of an emerging gene superfamily that presently includes phenol ST (PST), hydroxysteroid ST (HSST), and, in plants, flavonol ST (FST) "families," members of which share at least 45% amino acid sequence identity. These families can be further subdivided into "subfamilies" that are at least 60% identical in amino acid sequence. For example, the PST family includes both PST and estrogen ST (EST) subfamilies. Amino acid sequence motifs exist within ST enzymes that are conserved throughout phylogeny. These signature sequences may be involved in the binding of 3'-phosphoadenosine-5 '-phosphosulfate, the cosubstrate for the sulfonation reaction. There are presently five known human cytosolic ST enzymes: an EST, an HSST, and three PSTs. cDNAs and genes for all of these enzymes have been cloned, and chromosomal localizations have been reported for all five genes. Genes for these human enzymes, as well as those of other mammalian cytosolic ST enzymes that have been cloned, show a high degree of structural homology, with conservation of the locations of most intron/exon splice junctions. Human ST enzyme expression varies among individuals. Functionally significant genetic polymorphisms for ST enzymes in humans have been reported, and other molecular genetic mechanisms that might be involved in the regulation of the expression of these enzymes are being explored. Knowledge of the molecular biology of cytosolic ST enzymes, when placed within a context provided by decades of biochemical research, promises to significantly enhance our understanding of the regulation of the sulfate conjugation of hormones, neurotransmitters, and drugs.

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Histamine N-methyltransferase (HNMT) catalyzes a major pathway in histamine metabolism. Levels of HNMT activity in humans are regulated by inheritance. We set out to study the molecular basis for this genetic regulation. Northern blot analysis showed that HNMT is highly expressed in the kidney, so we determined levels of enzyme activity and thermal stability in 127 human renal biopsy samples. DNA was isolated from 12 kidney samples with widely different HNMT phenotypes, and exons of the HNMT gene were amplified with the polymerase chain reaction. In these 12 samples, we observed a C314T transition that resulted in a Thr105Ile change in encoded amino acid, as well as an A939G transition within the 3'-untranslated region. All remaining renal biopsy samples then were genotyped for these two variant sequences. Frequencies of the alleles encoding Thr105 and Ile105 in the 114 samples studied were 0.90 and 0.10, respectively, whereas frequencies for the nucleotide A939 and G alleles were 0.79 and 0.21, respectively. Kidney samples with the allele encoding Ile105 had significantly lower levels of HNMT activity and thermal stability than did those with the allele that encoded Thr105. These observations were confirmed by transient expression in COS-1 cells of constructs that contained all four alleles for these two polymorphisms. COS-1 cells transfected with the Ile105 allele had significantly lower HNMT activity and immunoreactive HNMT protein than did those transfected with the Thr105 allele. These observations will make it possible to test the hypothesis that genetic polymorphisms for HNMT may play a role in the pathophysiology of human disease.

Sulfotransferase (SULT) enzymes catalyze the sulfate conjugation of drugs, other xenobiotics, neurotransmitters and hormones. The genes for SULT1A1 and SULT1A2 contain common genetic polymorphisms that are associated with individual variations in levels of enzyme activity as well as variations in biochemical and physical properties. We set out to compare the frequencies of common SULT1A1 and SULT1A2 alleles in Caucasian, Chinese and African-American subjects. Allele frequencies for SULT1A1*1, *2 and *3 in 242 Caucasian subjects were 0.656, 0.332 and 0.012, respectively. Frequencies of those same alleles were significantly different in 290 Chinese subjects: 0.914, 0.080 and 0.006, respectively, as were frequencies in 70 African-American subjects: 0.477, 0.294 and 0.229, respectively. Ethnic variation in allele frequencies was also observed for SULT1A2, with frequencies in Caucasian subjects for SULT1A2*1, *2 and *3 of 0.507, 0.389 and 0.104; frequencies in Chinese of 0.924 and 0.076 with no *3 alleles observed; and, finally, in African-Americans frequencies of 0.637, 0.249 and 0.114, respectively. We also found that SULT1A1*2 and SULT1A2*2, the most common variant alleles for these two genes, were in positive linkage disequilibrium in all three populations studied, with D' values of 0.776 in Caucasian (P < 0.001), 0.915 in Chinese (P < 0.001) and 0.864 in African-American subjects (P < 0.001). These observations represent a step towards determining the possible functional implications for individual variations in sulfate conjugation of common genetic polymorphisms for SULT1A1 and SULT1A2.