Cholesterol Side-Chain Cleavage Enzyme

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Cytochrome P450, family 11, subfamily A, polypeptide 1 (P45011a1), often referred to as P450scc (or 20,22-desmolase), is a mitochondrial enzyme associated with the conversion of cholesterol to pregnenolone. The gene name is CYP11A1. The term "desmolase" is becoming outdated and the enzyme is now commonly referred to as P450scc, where "scc" refers to side-chain cleavage.The protein is a member of the cytochrome P450 superfamily of enzymes. It catalyzes the first step in all steroid hormone production -- the conversion of cholesterol to pregnenolone, the first steroid formed: cholesterol + reduced adrenal ferredoxin + O2 rightleftharpoons pregnenolone + 4-methylpentanal + oxidized adrenal ferredoxin + H2O