Carbonyl reduction of NNK by recombinant human lung enzymes: identification of HSD17β12 as the reductase important in (R)-NNAL formation in human lung

4-(Methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK) is the most abundant and carcinogenic tobacco-specific nitrosamine in tobacco and tobacco smoke. The major metabolic pathway for NNK is carbonyl reduction to form the (R) and (S) enantiomers of 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanol (NNAL) which, like NNK, is a potent lung carcinogen. The goal of this study was to characterize NNAL enantiomer formation in human lung and identify the enzymes responsible for this activity. While (S)-NNAL was the major enantiomer of NNAL formed in incubations with NNK in lung cytosolic fractions, (R)-NNAL comprised ~60 and ~95% of the total NNAL formed in lung whole cell lysates and microsomes, respectively. In studies examining the role of individual recombinant cytosolic reductase enzymes in lung NNAL enantiomer formation, AKR1C1, AKR1C2, AKR1C3, AKR1C4 and CBR1 all exhibited (S)-NNAL-formation activity. To identify the microsomal enzymes responsible for (R)-NNAL formation, 28 microsomal reductase enzymes were screened for expression by real-time PCR in normal human lung. HSD17β6, HSD17β12, KDSR, NSDHL, RDH10, RDH11 and SDR16C5 were all expressed at levels ≥HSD11β1, the only previously reported microsomal reductase enzyme with NNK-reducing activity, with HSD17β12 the most highly expressed. Of these lung-expressing enzymes, only HSD17β12 exhibited activity against NNK, forming primarily (>95%) (R)-NNAL, a pattern consistent with that observed in lung microsomes. siRNA knock-down of HSD17β12 resulted in significant decreases in (R)-NNAL-formation activity in HEK293 cells. These data suggest that both cytosolic and microsomal enzymes are active against NNK and that HSD17β12 is the major active microsomal reductase that contributes to (R)-NNAL formation in human lung.