Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 13, 2026

25-Hydroxycholesterol

25-Hydroxycholesterol is a derivative of cholesterol, which plays a role in various biological processes in humans and other species. It is involved in cholesterol metabolism, antiviral process, inflammatory and immune response, and survival signaling pathway. 25-hydroxycholesterol is biosynthesized from cholesterol by adding a hydroxyl group at the position 25-carbon of a steroid nucleus. This reaction is catalyzed by cholesterol 25-hydroxylase, a family of enzymes that use oxygen and a di-iron cofactor to catalyze hydroxylation reaction.

Last revised
Jun 13, 2026
Read time
≈ 2 min
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392 w
Citations
5
Source

25-Hydroxycholesterol
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Names
IUPAC name
Cholest-5-ene-3β,25-diol
Systematic IUPAC name
(1R,3aS,3bS,7S,9aR,9bS,11aR)-1-[(2R)-6-Hydroxy-6-methylheptan-2-yl]-9a,11a-dimethyl-2,3,3a,3b,4,6,7,8,9,9a,9b,10,11,11a-tetradecahydro-1H-cyclopenta[a]phenanthren-7-ol
Identifiers
3D model (JSmol)
ChEBI
ChemSpider
DrugBank
ECHA InfoCard 100.163.612
EC Number
  • 635-752-4
KEGG
UNII
  • InChI=1S/C27H46O2/c1-18(7-6-14-25(2,3)29)22-10-11-23-21-9-8-19-17-20(28)12-15-26(19,4)24(21)13-16-27(22,23)5/h8,18,20-24,28-29H,6-7,9-17H2,1-5H3/t18-,20+,21+,22-,23+,24+,26+,27-/m1/s1
    Key: INBGSXNNRGWLJU-ZHHJOTBYSA-N
  • CC(CCCC(C)(C)O)C1CCC2C1(CCC3C2CC=C4C3(CCC(C4)O)C)C
Properties
C27H46O2
Molar mass 402.7
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa).

25-Hydroxycholesterol is a derivative of cholesterol, which plays a role in various biological processes in humans and other species. It is involved in cholesterol metabolism, antiviral process, inflammatory and immune response, and survival signaling pathway. 25-hydroxycholesterol is biosynthesized from cholesterol by adding a hydroxyl group at the position 25-carbon of a steroid nucleus. This reaction is catalyzed by cholesterol 25-hydroxylase, a family of enzymes that use oxygen and a di-iron cofactor to catalyze hydroxylation reaction.12

The CYP3A4 enzyme, a member of the cytochrome P450 family, can catalyze the oxidation of 25-hydroxycholesterol to 7α,25-dihydroxycholesterol, whereas 25-hydroxycholesterol can inhibit CYP4F2 mRNA expression, so that members of the cytochrome P450 family are also involved in the metabolism of 25-hydroxycholesterol besides cholesterol 25-hydroxylase.3

25-hydroxycholesterol has been found in various organisms such as mice, rats, rabbits, and cows. As of 2023, its presence in other species has not been extensively studied.21

See also

See also

References

References

Further reading

Further reading