A comparative study of the sulfation of bile acids and a bile alcohol by the Zebra danio ( Danio rerio) and human cytosolic sulfotransferases (SULTs)

► Two zebrafish SULT3 STs and the human SULT2A1 catalyze the sulfation of bile acids/alcohol. ► pH-dependence results imply differential substrate recognitions among these three SULTs. ► Kinetic data indicate that the two zebrafish SULT3 STs prefer bile alcohol as substrate. ► Kinetic data indicate that the human SULT2A1 is more catalytically efficient toward bile acids. The current study was designed to examine the sulfation of bile acids and bile alcohols by the Zebra danio ( Danio rerio) SULTs in comparison with human SULTs. A systematic analysis using the fifteen Zebra danio SULTs revealed that SULT3 ST2 and SULT3 ST3 were the major bile acid/alcohol-sulfating SULTs. Among the eleven human SULTs, only SULT2A1 was found to be capable of sulfating bile acids and bile alcohols. To further investigate the sulfation of bile acids and bile alcohols by the two Zebra danio SULT3 STs and the human SULT2A1, pH-dependence and kinetics of the sulfation of bile acids/alcohols were analyzed. pH-dependence experiments showed that the mechanisms underlying substrate recognition for the sulfation of lithocholic acid (a bile acid) and 5α-petromyzonol (a bile alcohol) differed between the human SULT2A1 and the Zebra danio SULT3 ST2 and ST3. Kinetic analysis indicated that both the two Zebra danio SULT3 STs preferred petromyzonol as substrate compared to bile acids. In contrast, the human SULT2A1 was more catalytically efficient toward lithocholic acid than petromyzonol. Collectively, the results imply that the Zebra danio and human SULTs have evolved to serve for the sulfation of, respectively, bile alcohols and bile acids, matching the cholanoid profile in these two vertebrate species.