HSD17B2 Gene

HGNC Family	Short chain dehydrogenase/reductase superfamily (SDR)
Name	hydroxysteroid (17-beta) dehydrogenase 2
Description	Enables estradiol 17-beta-dehydrogenase [NAD(P)+] activity and testosterone dehydrogenase (NAD+) activity. Involved in androgen metabolic process; estrogen biosynthetic process; and response to retinoic acid. Located in endoplasmic reticulum membrane. [provided by Alliance of Genome Resources, Mar 2025]
Summary	{"type": "root", "children": [{"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\n Hydroxysteroid (17β) dehydrogenase type 2 (HSD17B2) is a key enzyme in local steroid metabolism that catalyzes the oxidation of potent 17β‐hydroxysteroids—such as estradiol and testosterone—into their less active 17‐keto forms (estrone and androstenedione). This conversion modulates the local availability of active estrogens and androgens in diverse tissues.\n "}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n "}, {"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\n In castration‐resistant prostate cancer, for example, HSD17B2 is upregulated along with other steroidogenic enzymes, suggesting that intratumoral steroid metabolism—including the inactivation of weak adrenal steroids—remains an important aspect of tumor biology even after androgen deprivation therapy."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "1"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " In breast tissue, expression levels of HSD17B2 show a significant negative correlation with intratumoral estradiol concentrations, and its diminished expression in cancer specimens compared with adjacent normal tissue may facilitate the accumulation of estrogen, thereby contributing to tumor progression."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "2"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n "}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n "}, {"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\n In lung fibroblasts, the combined activities of HSD17B2 and 5α‐reductase act to inactivate androgens by converting testosterone to androstenedione; such inactivation is thought to be important for regulating androgen action during lung maturation."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "4"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n "}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n "}, {"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\n Transgenic mouse models further emphasize the functional significance of HSD17B2; ubiquitous overexpression of human HSD17B2 resulted in growth retardation and disrupted spermatogenesis, underscoring the enzyme’s impact on steroid homeostasis and reproductive function."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "6"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " Moreover, genetic variants in HSD17B2 have been linked to altered plasma testosterone and estradiol concentrations, suggesting that inherited variation in this gene can influence systemic hormone levels."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "7"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n "}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n "}, {"type": "p", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "\n Finally, modulation of HSD17B2 expression by agents such as all‐trans retinoic acid in endometriotic cells highlights its role in regulating local estrogen bioavailability and suggests that altered expression of HSD17B2 may contribute to the pathogenesis of estrogen‐dependent conditions."}, {"type": "fg", "children": [{"type": "fg_f", "ref": "8"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": "\n "}]}, {"type": "rg", "children": [{"type": "r", "ref": 1, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Minja J Pfeiffer, Frank P Smit, John P M Sedelaar, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Steroidogenic enzymes and stem cell markers are upregulated during androgen deprivation in prostate cancer."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Mol Med (2011)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.2119/molmed.2010.00143"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.2119/molmed.2010.00143"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "21365123"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21365123"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 2, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Ben P Haynes, Anne Hege Straume, Jürgen Geisler, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Intratumoral estrogen disposition in breast cancer."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Clin Cancer Res (2010)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-09-2481"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-09-2481"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "20215536"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20215536"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 3, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Hanne A Askautrud, Elisabet Gjernes, Gjermund Gunnes, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Global gene expression analysis reveals a link between NDRG1 and vesicle transport."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "PLoS One (2014)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1371/journal.pone.0087268"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0087268"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "24498060"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24498060"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 4, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Pierre R Provost, Charles H Blomquist, Renée Drolet, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Androgen inactivation in human lung fibroblasts: variations in levels of 17 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 and 5 alpha-reductase activity compatible with androgen inactivation."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "J Clin Endocrinol Metab (2002)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1210/jcem.87.8.8764"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1210/jcem.87.8.8764"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "12161528"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12161528"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 5, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Eric Boucher, Pierre R Provost, Julie Plante, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Androgen receptor and 17beta-HSD type 2 regulation in neonatal mouse lung development."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Mol Cell Endocrinol (2009)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1016/j.mce.2009.06.012"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mce.2009.06.012"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "19576262"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19576262"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 6, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Shen Zhongyi, Pia Rantakari, Tarja Lamminen, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Transgenic male mice expressing human hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase 2 indicate a role for the enzyme independent of its action on sex steroids."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Endocrinology (2007)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1210/en.2007-0365"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1210/en.2007-0365"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "17510238"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17510238"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 7, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Jennifer Lin, Robert Y L Zee, Kuang-Yu Liu, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Genetic variation in sex-steroid receptors and synthesizing enzymes and colorectal cancer risk in women."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Cancer Causes Control (2010)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1007/s10552-010-9518-5"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1007/s10552-010-9518-5"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "20148360"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20148360"}]}, {"type": "r", "ref": 8, "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Yoshiaki Yamagata, Eiichi Takaki, Masahiro Shinagawa, et al. "}, {"type": "b", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "Retinoic acid has the potential to suppress endometriosis development."}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " "}, {"type": "i", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "J Ovarian Res (2015)"}]}, {"type": "t", "text": " DOI: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "10.1186/s13048-015-0179-6"}], "href": "https://doi.org/10.1186/s13048-015-0179-6"}, {"type": "t", "text": " PMID: "}, {"type": "a", "children": [{"type": "t", "text": "26228249"}], "href": "https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26228249"}]}]}]}
Synonyms	SDR9C2
Proteins	DHB2_HUMAN
NCBI Gene ID	3294
API
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Predicted Functions
Co-expressed Genes
Expression in Tissues and Cell Lines

Functional Associations

HSD17B2 has 6,270 functional associations with biological entities spanning 8 categories (molecular profile, organism, chemical, functional term, phrase or reference, disease, phenotype or trait, structural feature, cell line, cell type or tissue, gene, protein or microRNA) extracted from 115 datasets.

Click the + buttons to view associations for HSD17B2 from the datasets below.

If available, associations are ranked by standardized value

Harmonizome 3.0

HSD17B2 Gene

Functional Associations

Please acknowledge the Harmonizome in your publications by citing the following reference(s):

	Dataset	Summary
	Achilles Cell Line Gene Essentiality Profiles	cell lines with fitness changed by HSD17B2 gene knockdown relative to other cell lines from the Achilles Cell Line Gene Essentiality Profiles dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Adult Mouse Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	tissues with high or low expression of HSD17B2 gene relative to other tissues from the Allen Brain Atlas Adult Mouse Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Aging Dementia and Traumatic Brain Injury Tissue Sample Gene Expression Profiles	tissue samples with high or low expression of HSD17B2 gene relative to other tissue samples from the Allen Brain Atlas Aging Dementia and Traumatic Brain Injury Tissue Sample Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Developing Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles by Microarray	tissue samples with high or low expression of HSD17B2 gene relative to other tissue samples from the Allen Brain Atlas Developing Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles by Microarray dataset.
	Allen Brain Atlas Prenatal Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	tissues with high or low expression of HSD17B2 gene relative to other tissues from the Allen Brain Atlas Prenatal Human Brain Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	BioGPS Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles	cell lines with high or low expression of HSD17B2 gene relative to other cell lines from the BioGPS Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	BioGPS Human Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	cell types and tissues with high or low expression of HSD17B2 gene relative to other cell types and tissues from the BioGPS Human Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	BioGPS Mouse Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles	cell types and tissues with high or low expression of HSD17B2 gene relative to other cell types and tissues from the BioGPS Mouse Cell Type and Tissue Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	Carcinogenome Chemical Perturbation Carcinogenicity Signatures	small molecule perturbations changing expression of HSD17B2 gene from the Carcinogenome Chemical Perturbation Carcinogenicity Signatures dataset.
	CCLE Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles	cell lines with high or low copy number of HSD17B2 gene relative to other cell lines from the CCLE Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles dataset.
	CCLE Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles	cell lines with high or low expression of HSD17B2 gene relative to other cell lines from the CCLE Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	CCLE Cell Line Proteomics	Cell lines associated with HSD17B2 protein from the CCLE Cell Line Proteomics dataset.
	CellMarker Gene-Cell Type Associations	cell types associated with HSD17B2 gene from the CellMarker Gene-Cell Type Associations dataset.
	ChEA Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles	transcription factor binding site profiles with transcription factor binding evidence at the promoter of HSD17B2 gene from the CHEA Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles dataset.
	ChEA Transcription Factor Targets	transcription factors binding the promoter of HSD17B2 gene in low- or high-throughput transcription factor functional studies from the CHEA Transcription Factor Targets dataset.
	ChEA Transcription Factor Targets 2022	transcription factors binding the promoter of HSD17B2 gene in low- or high-throughput transcription factor functional studies from the CHEA Transcription Factor Targets 2022 dataset.
	CMAP Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Small Molecules	small molecule perturbations changing expression of HSD17B2 gene from the CMAP Signatures of Differentially Expressed Genes for Small Molecules dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores	cellular components containing HSD17B2 protein from the COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025	cellular components containing HSD17B2 protein from the COMPARTMENTS Curated Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores	cellular components co-occuring with HSD17B2 protein in abstracts of biomedical publications from the COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores dataset.
	COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025	cellular components co-occuring with HSD17B2 protein in abstracts of biomedical publications from the COMPARTMENTS Text-mining Protein Localization Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	COSMIC Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles	cell lines with high or low copy number of HSD17B2 gene relative to other cell lines from the COSMIC Cell Line Gene CNV Profiles dataset.
	COSMIC Cell Line Gene Mutation Profiles	cell lines with HSD17B2 gene mutations from the COSMIC Cell Line Gene Mutation Profiles dataset.
	CTD Gene-Chemical Interactions	chemicals interacting with HSD17B2 gene/protein from the curated CTD Gene-Chemical Interactions dataset.
	CTD Gene-Disease Associations	diseases associated with HSD17B2 gene/protein from the curated CTD Gene-Disease Associations dataset.
	DepMap CRISPR Gene Dependency	cell lines with fitness changed by HSD17B2 gene knockdown relative to other cell lines from the DepMap CRISPR Gene Dependency dataset.
	DISEASES Experimental Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores 2025	diseases associated with HSD17B2 gene in GWAS datasets from the DISEASES Experimental Gene-Disease Assocation Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores	diseases co-occuring with HSD17B2 gene in abstracts of biomedical publications from the DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Assocation Evidence Scores dataset.
	DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Association Evidence Scores 2025	diseases co-occuring with HSD17B2 gene in abstracts of biomedical publications from the DISEASES Text-mining Gene-Disease Assocation Evidence Scores 2025 dataset.
	DisGeNET Gene-Disease Associations	diseases associated with HSD17B2 gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the DisGeNET Gene-Disease Associations dataset.
	DisGeNET Gene-Phenotype Associations	phenotypes associated with HSD17B2 gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the DisGeNET Gene-Phenoptype Associations dataset.
	DrugBank Drug Targets	interacting drugs for HSD17B2 protein from the curated DrugBank Drug Targets dataset.
	ENCODE Histone Modification Site Profiles	histone modification site profiles with high histone modification abundance at HSD17B2 gene from the ENCODE Histone Modification Site Profiles dataset.
	ENCODE Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles	transcription factor binding site profiles with transcription factor binding evidence at the promoter of HSD17B2 gene from the ENCODE Transcription Factor Binding Site Profiles dataset.
	ENCODE Transcription Factor Targets	transcription factors binding the promoter of HSD17B2 gene in ChIP-seq datasets from the ENCODE Transcription Factor Targets dataset.
	ESCAPE Omics Signatures of Genes and Proteins for Stem Cells	PubMedIDs of publications reporting gene signatures containing HSD17B2 from the ESCAPE Omics Signatures of Genes and Proteins for Stem Cells dataset.
	GAD Gene-Disease Associations	diseases associated with HSD17B2 gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the GAD Gene-Disease Associations dataset.
	GAD High Level Gene-Disease Associations	diseases associated with HSD17B2 gene in GWAS and other genetic association datasets from the GAD High Level Gene-Disease Associations dataset.
	GDSC Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles	cell lines with high or low expression of HSD17B2 gene relative to other cell lines from the GDSC Cell Line Gene Expression Profiles dataset.
	GeneRIF Biological Term Annotations	biological terms co-occuring with HSD17B2 gene in literature-supported statements describing functions of genes from the GeneRIF Biological Term Annotations dataset.