Biotransformation of testosterone and testosterone heptanoate by four filamentous fungi

Article abstract of DOI:10.1016/j.steroids.2014.09.002

The microbial transformations of testosterone and testosterone heptanoate by four fungi: Absidia griseolla var. igachii PTCC 5260, Acremonium chrysogenu PTCC 5271, Fusarium fujikuroi PTCC 5144, and Fusarium solani complex PTCC 5285 were investigated for the first time. Incubation of testosterone heptanoate with F. fujikuroi and F. solani yielded three metabolites, which were isolated and characterized as testosterone, androst-4-ene-3,17-dione, and 6β-hydroxy testosterone. 6β-Hydroxy testosterone was the major metabolite obtained from testosterone heptanoate biotransformation by two fungal species. A. griseolla and A. chrysogenu produced 14α-hydroxy testosterone as major metabolite, together with testosterone and 6β-hydroxy testosterone in lower yields. The biotransformation of testosterone by F. fujikuroi and A. griseolla was also investigated in order to examine the influence of the ester group on the course of transformation. Androst-4-ene-3,17-dione was only identified in the biotransformation of testosterone by F. fujikuroi. The same product was observed in incubation of testosterone by A. griseolla, together with 14α-hydroxy testosterone in very low yield. Furthermore, time course study was also carried out in order to examine the formation of metabolites as a function of time, which was determined by HPLC. The structures of compounds were determined by their comprehensive spectroscopic analysis and comparison with literature data.

Full text of DOI:10.1016/j.steroids.2014.09.002

Accepted Manuscript
Biotransformation of testosterone and testosterone heptanoate by four filamen-
tous fungi
Sabrieh Ghasemi, Maryam Mohajeri, Zohreh Habibi
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S0039-128X(14)00234-7
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.steroids.2014.09.002
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3 September 2014
Please cite this article as: Ghasemi, S., Mohajeri, M., Habibi, Z., Biotransformation of testosterone and testosterone
heptanoate by four filamentous fungi, Steroids (2014), doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.steroids.2014.09.002
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Biotransformation of testosterone and testosterone heptanoate by four filamentous fungi
∗
Sabrieh Ghasemi, Maryam Mohajeri, and Zohreh Habibi
Department of Pure Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Shahid Beheshti University, G.C., Tehran,
Iran
∗
Corresponding author. Tel./fax: +98 21 2990 3110
E-mail address: z_habibi@sbu.ac.ir (Z. Habibi).
1

Abstract
The microbial transformations of testosterone and testosterone heptanoate by four fungi: Absidia
griseolla var. igachii PTCC 5260, Acremonium chrysogenu PTCC 5271, Fusarium fujikuroi
PTCC 5144, and Fusarium solani complex PTCC 5285 were investigated for the first time.
Incubation of testosterone heptanoate with F. fujikuroi and F. solani yielded three metabolites,
which were isolated and characterized as testosterone, androst-4-ene-3,17-dione, and 6β-hydroxy
testosterone. 6<beta>-Hydroxy testosterone was the major metabolite obtained from testosterone
heptanoate biotransformation by two fungal species. A. griseolla and A. chrysogenu produced
14<alpha>-hydroxy testosterone as major metabolite, together with testosterone and 6<beta>-
hydroxy testosterone in lower yields. The biotransformation of testosterone by F. fujikuroi and A.
griseolla was also investigated in order to examine the influence of the ester group on the course
of transformation. Androst-4-ene-3,17-dione was only identified in the biotransformation of
testosterone by F. fujikuroi. The same product was observed in incubation of testosterone by A.
griseolla, together with 14<alpha>-hydroxy testosterone in very low yield. Furthermore, time
course study was also carried out in order to examine the formation of metabolites as a function
of time, which was determined by HPLC. The structures of compounds were determined by their
comprehensive spectroscopic analysis and comparison with literature data.
Keywords: Biotransformation; Steroids;Testosterone heptanoate; Filamentous fungi; 14<alpha>-
hydroxy testosterone; 6<beta>-Hydroxy testosterone.
2

1. Introduction
Biotransformation is a broad and growing field of biotechnology and encompasses both
enzymatic and microbial biocatalysts for the transformation of natural and synthetic bioactive
compounds [1–4].The production of desired chemicals by microbial biotransformation can offer
several advantages, including high stereoselectivity, high activity, flexible substrate selectivity,
minimal side reaction productivity, mild reaction conditions, and environmentally friendly [5–7].
Since the biological activities of steroids depend on their proper functionalization, microbial
transformations represent a unique tool in the production of highly valuable pharmaceuticals
from readily available steroid raw materials [8–12]. Microorganisms, especially fungi have
remarkable ability to carry out diverse chemical reactions like hydroxylation, oxidation,
reduction, hydrolysis, degradation, etc., on steroidal compounds [13–16]. The introduction of
hydroxyl functionality into a steroid molecule by fungal biotransformation is still the most
efficient method for the preparation of specific derivatives with therapeutic use and commercial
value [17–20].
As testosterone is one of the end products of steroid biosynthesis in the human male and is of
special importance as a steroid hormone, its microbial transformation is of considerable interest
[21,22]. Different microorganisms have been studied with the aim of producing new testosterone
derivatives that are not readily accessible by chemical synthesis. The most common
transformation of testosterone was hydroxylation at C-2β, -6α, -6β, -7α, -7 β, -11 α, -14 α, -15α,
and -15β [22–24]. Oxidation of 17β-OH to the corresponding ketone, which is usually
accompanied by hydroxylation, reduction of the double bond, and Baeyer–Villiger lactonization
were also reported [21,25].
3

These results encouraged us to investigate the biotransformation of the testosterone and
testosterone heptanoate by using four fungi Fusarium fujikuroi, Fusarium solani, Absidia
griseolla, and Acremonium chrysogenu. These fungal species were chosen because of the known
capability of the genus Acremonium, Absidia and Fusarium to hydroxylate of steroids
[18,19,26,27]. Furthermore, time course study was also carried out in order to examine the
formation of metabolites as a function of time.
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Instrumental methods
Melting points were determined on an Electrothermal 9100 apparatus and were uncorrected.
Direct electron ionization mass spectra (EIMS) were obtained by an Agilent 5973 at 70 ev.
Infrared spectra were recorded with a Shimadzu IR-470 spectrometer. The 1H and 13C NMR
spectra were obtained by using a Bruker AVANCE 300 (Bruker Biospin, Rheinstetten,
Germany) spectrometer at 300.13 and 75.47 MHz, respectively. Preparative thin layer
chromatography (TLC) was performed on silica gel 60 mesh GF254 plates (20 × 20 cm) and
observation of plates was carried out under UV. The optical rotation was measured on a
polarimeter using a sodium lamp (589 nm) at room temperature. The high performance liquid
chromatography (HPLC) system consisted of a Knauer model smart line pump 10000, an online
degasser and a K-2600 UV variable-wavelength detector all from Knauer (Berlin, Germany).
The HPLC column was a Eurospher 100-5 C18 column (25 cm × 0.46 cm i.d. 5-µm particle size)
from Herbert Knauer GmbH (Berlin, Germany).
4

2.2. Materials
Testosterone and testosterone heptanoate, used in the present study were kindly donated by
Caspian Tamin Pharmaceutical Co. (Rasht, Iran). All solvents and reagents were analytical
grade. The ingredients of culture media were purchased from Scharlu (Italy) and Merck
(Darmstadt, Germany).
2.3. Microorganism and conditions of cultivation
Four fungal species namely A. griseolla var. igachii PTCC 5260, A. chrysogenu PTCC 5271,
F. fujikuroi PTCC 5144, and F. solani complex PTCC 5285 (deposited in the Persian Type
Culture Collection (PTCC), Iranian Research Organization for Science and Technology) were
used in the present study. The medium for A. chrysogenu was prepared by adding yeast extract
(4.0 g), soluble starch (15.0 g), MgSO4.7H2O (0.5 g), K2HPO4 (1.0 g), and agar (15.0 g) to
distilled H2O (1.0 L). Fusarium species and A. griseolla were grown on potato-glucose agar
plates (20 g glucose, 300 g diced potatoes, 15.0 g agar/L) and stored at 4 °C. The culture media
were freshly subcultured before using in the biotransformation experiment.
2.4. Biotransformation condition and product isolation
For each fungal species, ten 250 mL Erlenmeyer flasks, each containing 150 mL of sterilized
liquid medium were inoculated with freshly obtained spores from agar slope cultures. The flasks
were incubated at 26 °C under constant shaking on an orbital shaker at 120 rpm.
5

After 3 days of growth, 100 mg of substrate dissolved in 1 mL of absolute ethanol was added
to each of the 150 mL cultures. Incubations were continued and the progress of the reaction was
monitored by TLC. The cultures were generally sampled every day after addition of substrate. In
order to study the catalytic efficiency of microorganisms, substrate controls consisted of sterile
medium were similarly incubated but without microorganism. At the end of the incubation
period, the products were filtered and extracted three times with 20 mL of chloroform. After
evaporating the organic solvent layer, each of the extracts was further purified separately.
2.5. Purification and structural analysis of products
The broth extracts were subjected to repeated preparative thin layer chromatography with n-
hexane/ethyl acetate as the solvent to yield pure compounds. The structure of compounds was
elucidated by their comprehensive spectroscopic analysis including IR, EI-MS, 1H NMR, 13C
NMR, melting point, and comparison with literature data.
2.6. HPLC analysis and quantification of the metabolites
The quantitative analysis of testosterone metabolites was carried out by HPLC using a 20µL
injection. All chromatography was performed at room temperature, and the UV detector was set
at 254 nm. Stock solutions of starting material, androst-4-ene-3,17-dione, and the hydroxylated
testosterone standards were prepared in methanol. Aliquots of these solutions were diluted with
methanol to prepare five different concentrations for the generation of HPLC calibration curves.
All standard solutions were stored at 4 °C until further use. The mobile phase consisted of A
6

(water–acetonitrile, 47:53) and B, 100% acetonitrile. The HPLC system was operated at a flow
rate of 0.5 mL/min with a linear gradient of 100% A to 100% B over 30 min, and then held at
100% B for 20 min. The exact identification of the metabolites and starting materials was
established by comparing their retention times with those of authentic standards. The retention
times for testosterone, testosterone heptanoate, androst-4-ene-3,17-dione, 6<beta>-, and
14<alpha>-hydroxytestosterones were 19.83, 42, 18.55, 7.66, and 8.76 min, respectively. The
quantitative analysis of samples was performed using external standard technique and each
analysis was carried out in triplicate.
3. Results and discussion
There are several reports about the biotransformation of testosterone [21,23,25]; however, the
incubations of testosterone derivatives by four fungal species A. griseolla, A. chrysogenu, F.
fujikuroi, and F. solani have not been reported. In the present study, in order to examine the
influence of the ester group on the course of transformation [28], testosterone and testosterone
heptanoate were chosen as substrate, and were incubated with these four filamentous fungi.
Incubation of testosterone heptanoate (1) with F. fujikuroi and F. solani for 13 days yielded
testosterone (2), 6<beta>-hydroxy-testosterone (3), and androst-4-ene-3,17-dione (4). It is worth
noting that 6<beta>-hydroxy-testosterone (3) was produced as a major metabolite with high yield
by these fungal species (Fig. 1). Testosterone (2), 6<beta>-hydroxy-testosterone (3), and
14<alpha>-hydroxy-testosterone (5) were isolated in the transformation by A. griseolla and A.
chrysogenu, (Fig. 2). The latter was a major metabolite and the structure of the metabolites was
determined by spectroscopic analysis and comparison with literature data.
7

The mass spectrum of metabolites 2 and 3 showed a molecular ion peak at m/z 304, indicating
empirical formulae of C19H28O3. It is supposed that the first step of the reaction was probably
hydrolysis of the ester bond, followed by the alcohol resulting from the hydrolysis underwent
hydroxylation. Comparison of NMR data of 2 and 3 with that of testosterone heptanoate
confirmed this postulate.
6<beta>-Hydroxytestosterone (3), White amorphous powder; mp 205–207 °C (lit [29] 206–210
°C), [α]D20 +41° (c, 0.5; CHCl3) (lit [29] [α]D +39° (c, 0.5; CHCl3)); IR (KBr); νmax: 3430, 2926,
2846, 1660 cm−1; MS; m/z (%): 304 (2) (M+, C19H28O3), 302 (6), 287 (6), 185 (2), 152 (32), 91
(48), 67 (51), 55 (100); 1H NMR (300.13 MHz, CDCl3) δ 0.84 (3H, s, H-18), 1.41 (3H, s, H-19),
3.68 (1H, t, J= 8.3 Hz, H-17), 4.37 (1H, brs, H-6), 5.84 (1H, s, H-4); 13C NMR (75.47 MHz,
CDCl3) δ 200.4 (C3), 168.2 (C5), 126.4 (C4), 81.7 (C17), 73.1 (C6), 53.7 (C9), 50.5 (C14).
20
Androst-4-ene-3,17-dione (4), White powder; mp: 169–171 °C (lit [30] 170–171 °C), [α]D
+193° (c, 0.9; CHCl3) (lit [30] [α]D +190° (c, 0.9; CHCl3)); IR (KBr); νmax: 2933, 2846, 1739,
1673 cm−1; MS; m/z (%): 286 (8) (M+, C19H26O2), 271 (44), 258 (43), 244 (52), 201 (22), 148
(56), 124 (100), 109 (48); 1H NMR (300.13 MHz, CDCl3) δ 0.91 (3H, s, H-18), 1.22 (3H, s, H-
19), 5.75 (1H, s, H-4); 13C NMR (75.47 MHz, CDCl3) δ 220.5 (C17), 199.4 (C3), 170.4 (C5),
124.2 (C4), 53.8 (C9), 50.8 (C14), 47.5 (C13), 38.7 (C10).
14<alpha>-Hydroxy testosterone (5), White powder; mp: 180–183 °C (lit [31,32] 181–184
°C), [α]D20 +119° (c, 1.0; CHCl3) (lit [31,32] [α]D +121°(c, 0.974; CHCl3); IR (KBr); νmax: 3410,
2919, 2853, 1733, 1660 cm−1; MS; m/z (%): 304 (31) (M+, C19H28O3), 286 (37), 271 (47), 268
(14), 242 (12), 173 (14), 148 (31), 124 (100), 91 (69);1H NMR (300.13 MHz, CDCl3) δ 0.90
8

(3H, s, H-18), 1.20 (3H, s, H-19), 4.29 (1H, brs, H-17), 5.71 (1H, s, H-4); 13C NMR (75.47 MHz,
CDCl3) δ 199.5 (C3), 170.5 (C5), 124.0 (C4), 83.4 (C14), 78.6 (C17), 46.8 (C9).
The FT-IR spectrum of 6<beta>-hydroxy-testosterone (3) showed an absorbance at 3430 cm−1,
which was representative of a new hydroxyl group. This was confirmed by the appearance of a
new 1H NMR resonance at 4.37 ppm as a broad singlet. The downfield shifts of the Me-19 and
H-4 signals were 0.2 and 0.09 ppm relative to testosterone, respectively, by virtue of their spatial
proximity to 6β-OH. The H-17α triplet (J= 8.3 Hz), which is characteristic of testosterone,
appeared at δ 3.68 ppm. The 13C NMR spectrum for this metabolite also exhibited 19 carbon
signals. The appearance of a new CHOH signal at 73.1 ppm confirmed that oxygen insertion had
occurred at C-6.
The 1H NMR spectrum of 14α-hydroxy-testosterone (5) showed a downfield shift (0.09 ppm)
of the Me-18 with slight changes of the chemical shifts of Me-19 and H-4 compared to
testosterone (2). The hydroxyl group in the 14<alpha>-position caused a downfield shift in the
l7α-proton from δ 3.67 ppm in testosterone to δ 4.29 ppm. Analysis of the1H NMR spectrum
indicated that the hydroxylation occurred at a tertiary carbon atom. The 13C NMR spectrum
displayed the appearance of a resonance for a new oxygenated carbon at C-14 (83.4 ppm).
Comparison of its data with that in the literature results identified the structure of this metabolite
[31,32].
The molecular ion of the metabolite 4 was m/z 286, which indicated the reduction of 2 units as
compared to testosterone, and the formula of C19H26O2. In FT-IR spectrum of the least polar
metabolite (4), the peaks in the region 1739 and 1672 cm-1 confirmed the existence of two
carbonyl groups in this compound. The 1H NMR data of the androst-4-ene-3,17-dione (4)
9

showed the loss of the resonance, which corresponded to H-17. 13C NMR spectrum showed the
appearance of a new carbonyl signal at 220.5 ppm. The remaining spectral data for metabolites
3–5 also accord with the structures, which is discussed above
Furthermore, in order to examine the influence of the ester group on the course of
transformation, the incubation of testosterone by F. fujikuroi and A. griseolla was also
investigated. The obtained results indicated that testosterone was inert to hydroxylation by F.
fujikuroi and androst-4-ene-3,17-dione was only obtained (Fig. 3). 6<beta>-Hydroxy derivative,
which was formed from the biotransformation of testosterone heptanoate, was not detected in
conversion of testosterone. The biotransformation of testosterone by A. griseolla resulted in the
formation of androst-4-ene-3,17-dione (23%) and 14<alpha>-hydroxy testosterone in very low
yield (7%).
3.1. Quantification of testosterone metabolites by HPLC
A simple HPLC method has been developed and optimized for the quantification of
testosterone metabolites resulting from testosterone and testosterone heptanoate incubation by
four filamentous fungi.
As mentioned previously, there were three products 2–4 formed during testosterone
heptanoate incubation by F. fujikuroi and F. solani. Time course study showed the accumulation
of the testosterone and androst-4-ene-3,17-dione as major metabolites within 3 days of
incubation, after which the concentration of both metabolites were reduced until they approached
almost 20% after 13 days of incubation (Fig. 4a and 4b). The yield of 6<beta>-hydroxy
testosterone was significantly increased, reaching its maximal level 13 days after the testosterone
10

heptanoate incubation with F. fujikuroi (59%) and F.solani (56%). These results suggest that the
testosterone heptanoate underwent hydrolysis and the testosterone was transformed.
In comparison, when testosterone heptanoate was incubated with A. griseolla and A.
chrysogenu, metabolites 2, 3, and 5 were produced after 24 hrs of incubation. The transformation
of 14<alpha>-hydroxytestosterone increased linearly with incubation time up to approximately 3
days, while concentration of compound 2 was gradually decreasing (Fig. 5a and 5b). After 3
days, the amount of metabolites formed became nonlinear and appeared to be constant with
further incubation time. The maximum amount of 6β-hydroxytestosterone was obtained after 3
days of incubation [(A. griseolla (24%) and A. chrysogenu (29%)] and then remained almost
constant until the end of the experimental period. In incubation of 1 with A. griseolla and A.
chrysogenu, 14α-hydroxytestosterone was identified as the major product with high yield of 45%
and 53%, respectively. For the testosterone heptanoate incubation by these fungal species, time
of 3 days was chosen as ideal because the maximum amounts of metabolites were formed in this
period.
The last time course study was constructed to examine the biotransformation of testosterone
by F. fujikuroi and A. griseolla. The obtained results indicated that testosterone 2 was not
hydroxylated at C-6β by F. fujikuroi. After 9 days of incubation, androst-4-ene-3,17-dione (36%)
was only obtained as a major product (Fig. 6). A. griseolla produced a lower amount of androst-
4-ene-3,17-dione (23%) and afforded a minor product (about 7%), which was identified as
14<alpha>-hydroxy testosterone. As shown in Figure 7, the yield of biotransformation by this
fungus was increased, reaching its maximal level within 3 days of incubation and then remained
almost constant until the end of the experimental period.
11

It was observed that the presence of the heptanoate group mainly influenced the degree of
transformation. It is supposed that the first step of the reaction was probably hydrolysis of the
ester bond, followed by the alcohols resulting from the hydrolysis underwent hydroxylation and
oxidation at C-17.
4. Conclusions
The topic of microbial transformations of testosterone derivatives was extensively reviewed
where biocatalytic hydroxylation, oxidation at C-17, reduction, and hydrolysis were described.
However, this is the first reported work on the microbial transformation of testosterone and
testosterone heptanoate using four fungi F. fujikuroi, F. solani, A. griseolla, and A. chrysogenu.
The obtained results showed that the presence of the heptanoate group mainly influenced the
degree of transformation. Bioconversion of testosterone heptanoate resulted in the formation of
6β- and 14α-hydroxytestosterone derivatives with excellent yield. No hydroxylation took place
in the biotransformation of testosterone by F. fujikuroi, but this fugal species oxidized the 17-
hydroxyl group to the corresponding ketone. The similar result was obtained in the
biotransformation of testosterone by A. griseolla and 14α-hydroxytestosterone derivative was
obtained in very low yield. To the best of our knowledge this is the first report on hydroxylation
of testosterone by these fungal species.
Acknowledgment
12

This work was supported financially by the grant number 600/4294 from Research Council of
Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran.
13

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Figure legends
Figure 1. Biotransformation of testosterone heptanoate (1) with Fusarium fujikuroi and Fusarium
solani
Figure 2. Biotransformation of testosterone heptanoate (1) with Absidia griseolla and
Acremonium chrysogenu
Figure 3. Biotransformation of testosterone (1) with Fusarium fujikuroi and Absidia griseolla
Figure 4. Time course profiles of testosterone heptanoate biotransformation by (a) Fusarium
fujikuroi and b) Fusarium solani (mean SD; n = 3).
Figure 5. Time course profiles of testosterone heptanoate biotransformation by (a) Absidia
griseolla and b) Acremonium chrysogenu (mean SD; n = 3).
Figure 6. Time course profile of testosterone biotransformation by Fusarium fujikuroi (mean
SD; n = 3).
Figure 7. Time course profile of testosterone biotransformation by Absidia griseolla. Data are
shown as mean SD (n=3).
18

OH
OH
O
O
O
O
OH
2
3
F. fujikuroi
+
20%
(18%)
59%
(56%)
(F. solani)
O
O
1
O
4
17%
(19%)
Fig. 1
19

OH
OH
O
O
O
O
OH
3
2
+
A. griseolla
24%
(29%)
O
19%
(12%)
(A. chrysogenum)
1
OH
OH
O
5
45%
(53%)
Fig. 2
20

O
O
OH
4
36%
OH
O
O
2
OH
+
O
O
4
5
23%
7%
Fig. 3
21

Fig. 4
22

Fig. 5
23

Fig. 6
24

Fig. 7
25

Highlights
ꢀ Biotransformation of testosterone and testosterone heptanoate was investigated.
ꢀ Four filamentous fungi were used for the biotransformation.
ꢀ 6β and 14α-hydroxytestosterone were obtained in biotransformation of testosterone
heptanoate.
ꢀ Androst-4-ene-3,17-dione was the major product in the biotransformation of testosterone.
ꢀ Time course study was also carried out with four fungal species.
26