There are at least two isozymes of the corticosteroid 11-beta-dehydrogenase, a microsomal enzyme complex responsible for the interconversion of cortisol and cortisone. The type I isozyme has both 11-beta-dehydrogenase (cortisol to cortisone) and 11-oxoreductase (cortisone to cortisol) activities. The type II isozyme, encoded by this gene, has only 11-beta-dehydrogenase activity. In aldosterone-selective epithelial tissues such as the kidney, the type II isozyme catalyzes the glucocorticoid cortisol to the inactive metabolite cortisone, thus preventing illicit activation of the mineralocorticoid receptor. In tissues that do not express the mineralocorticoid receptor, such as the placenta and testis, it protects cells from the growth-inhibiting and/or pro-apoptotic effects of cortisol, particularly during embryonic development. Mutations in this gene cause the syndrome of apparent mineralocorticoid excess and hypertension.

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