HSD11B2

Chr 16AR

hydroxysteroid 11-beta dehydrogenase 2

Also known as: AME, AME1, HSD11K, HSD2, SDR9C3

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. [provided by RefSeq, Feb 2010]

Primary Disease Associations & Inheritance

Apparent mineralocorticoid excessMIM #218030
AR
2
Active trials
46
Pathogenic / LP
235
ClinVar variants
5
Pubs (1 yr)
1.0
Missense Z
0.82
LOEUF
Clinical SummaryHSD11B2
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Gene-Disease Validity (ClinGen)
apparent mineralocorticoid excess · ARDefinitive

Definitive — sufficient evidence for diagnostic panels

Population Constraint (gnomAD)
Constrained for loss-of-function variants (OE-LoF 0.32) despite low pLI — interpret in context.
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ClinVar Variants
46 Pathogenic / Likely Pathogenic· 120 VUS of 235 total submissions
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Clinical Trials
2 active or recruiting trials — potential therapeutic options may be available

Population Genetics & Constraint

gnomAD v4 — loss-of-function & missense intolerance

Tolerant — LoF & missense variants common in population
LoF Constraint?LOEUF (Loss-of-function Observed/Expected Upper bound Fraction) is the upper bound of the 90% CI for LoF OE — the preferred gnomAD v4 metric. Lower = more intolerant to LoF. LOEUF < 0.35 = highly constrained.
0.82LOEUF
pLI 0.118
Z-score 1.95
OE 0.32 (0.140.82)
Tolerant

Typical tolerance to LoF variation

Missense Constraint?Missense Z-score: standard deviations fewer missense variants observed vs. expected. Z > 3.09 (p < 0.001) = gene does not tolerate missense variation. OE missense < 0.6 is also considered constrained.
1.02Z-score
OE missense 0.80 (0.700.91)
162 obs / 202.9 exp
Tolerant

Mild missense constraint

Observed / Expected Ratios?Shaded band = 90% confidence interval. Vertical tick = point estimate. Grey threshold line = gnomAD constraint cutoff for that variant class.
LoF OE?Ratio of observed to expected LoF variants. Upper CI bound (LOEUF) ≤ 0.35 = strong LoF constraint signal.0.32 (0.140.82)
00.351.4
Missense OE?Ratio of observed to expected missense variants. OE ≤ 0.6 = fewer missense variants than expected by chance.0.80 (0.700.91)
00.61.4
Synonymous OE?Control metric — synonymous variants are largely neutral and expected near OE = 1.0. Significant deviation may indicate annotation issues.1.01
01.21.6
LoF obs/exp: 3 / 9.5Missense obs/exp: 162 / 202.9Syn Z: -0.06
DN
0.78top 25%
GOF
0.72top 25%
LOF
0.2484th %ile

This gene has evidence for multiple mechanisms of pathogenicity (dominant-negative and gain-of-function). Both the Badonyi & Marsh prediction and the broader genomic evidence point to dominant-negative as the predominant mechanism. Different variants in this gene may act through different mechanisms — interpret in context of the specific variant.

DNprediction above median
GOFprediction above median

Note: In-silico variant effect predictors (SIFT, PolyPhen, REVEL, CADD) may underestimate pathogenicity of missense variants in genes with GOF or DN mechanisms. Consider functional evidence and clinical context.

Predictions from Badonyi M, Marsh JA. PLoS ONE. 2024;19(8):e0307312.

ClinVar Variant Classifications

235 submitted variants in ClinVar

Classification Summary

Pathogenic35
Likely Pathogenic11
VUS120
Likely Benign54
Benign9
Conflicting6
35
Pathogenic
11
Likely Pathogenic
120
VUS
54
Likely Benign
9
Benign
6
Conflicting

Curated Variants Distribution

Classified variants from ClinVar · 5 ACMG categories

ClassificationLoFMissense + InframeNon-codingSynonymousTotal
Pathogenic
4
6
25
0
35
Likely Pathogenic
4
4
3
0
11
VUS
2
104
12
2
120
Likely Benign
0
6
15
33
54
Benign
0
1
4
4
9
Conflicting
6
Total101215939235

LoF = frameshift, stop gained/lost, canonical splice · Counts from ClinVar esearch · Updated hourly

View in ClinVar →

Protein Context — Lollipop Plot

HSD11B2 · protein map & ClinVar variants

Showing all ClinVar variants across the protein. Search a specific variant to highlight its position.

Clinical Literature
Landmark / reviewRecent case evidence