The enzyme sequence is derived from Nocardia sp., and this cholesterol dehydrogenase is expressed in Streptomyces lividans. Cholesterol Dehydrogenase from Nocardia sp. has been used in the preparation of amperometric cholesterol biosensor for cholesterol detection in biological samples and in a study to investigate the atomic structure of the autosomal recessive hypercholesterolemia phosphotyrosine-binding domain with the LDL-receptor tail. Cholesterol dehydrogenase from Nocardia sp. Has also been used in a study to assess organization, dynamics, and segregation of Ras nanoclusters in membrane domains.
Cholesterol dehydrogenase (CDH) is a nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NAD(P)) dependent microbial dehydrogenase that oxidizes the 3-β-hydroxyl group of cholesterol to yield cholest-4-ene-3-one. Cholesterol detection by using CDH allows direct and easier quantification compared to cholesterol oxidase based assay.