Carbonic anhydrases (CAs, EC 4.2.1.1) are ubiquitous metalloenzymes, present throughout most living organisms and encoded by five evolutionarily unrelated gene families. The Carbonic Anhydrases as Biocatalysts: From Theory to Medical and Industrial Applications presents information on the growing interest in the study of this enzyme family and their applications to both medicine and biotechnology. - Offers comprehensive coverage of the carbonic anhydrases enzyme family and their properties as biocatalysts - Includes current applications of carbonic anhydrases in biotechnology on the basis of their catalytic efficiency, including new technologies for CO2 capture processes - Identifies new targets for drug design studies - Provides a selectivity profile for the different carbonic anhydrases and their related biomedical applications

The study of carbonic anhydrase has spanned multiple generations of scientists. Carbonic anhydrase was first discovered in 1932 by Meldrum and Roughton. Inhibition by sulfanilamide was shown in 1940 by Mann and Keilin. Even Hans Krebs contributed to early studies with a paper in 1948 showing the relationship of 25 different sulfonamides to CA inhibition. It was he who pointed out the importance of both the charged and uncharged character of these compounds for physiological experiments. The field of study that focuses on carbonic anhydrase (CA) has exploded in recent years with the identification of new families and isoforms. The CAs are metalloenzymes which are comprised of 5 structurally different families: the alpha, beta, gamma, and delta, and epsilon classes. The alpha class is found primarily in animals with several isoforms associated with human disease. The beta CAs are expressed primarily in plants and are the most divergent. The gamma CAs are the most ancient. These are structurally related to the beta CAs, but have a mechanism more similar to the alpha CAs. The delta CAs are found in marine algae and diflagellates. The epsilon class is found in prokaryotes in which it is part of the carboxysome shell perhaps supplying RuBisCO with CO2 for carbon fixation. With the excitement surrounding the discovery of disease-related CAs, scientists have redoubled their efforts to better understand structure-function relationships, to design high affinity, isotype-specific inhibitors, and to delineate signaling systems that play regulatory roles over expression and activity. We have designed the book to cover basic information of mechanism, structure, and function of the CA families. The authors included in this book bring to light the newest data with regard to the role of CA in physiology and pathology, across phylums, and in unique environmental niches.

Carbonic anhydrase (CA) is a seemingly ubiquitous enzyme of profound physiological importance, which plays essential roles in respiration, acid-base homeostasis, bone resorption, calcification, photosynthesis, several biosynthetic pathways and a variety of processes involving ion, gas and fluid transfer. This enzyme, which is present in at least three gene families (a, ß, ?), has found favour as a model for the study of evolution of gene families and for site-directed mutagenesis in structure/function relationships, for protein folding and for transgenic and gene target studies. Since the early use of CA inhibitors as diuretics and in treating congestive heart failure, the enzyme has been target of considerable clinical attention. Much of this is now focused on endeavours to produce a new generation of such drugs for the effective treatment of glaucoma and other potential applications. Recent data, suggesting links between CA and various disease processes, including cancer, have stimulated further...

Carbonic anhydrases (CAs; EC 4.2.1.1) are metalloenzymes present in all kingdoms of life, as they equilibrate the reaction between three simple but essential chemical species: CO2, bicarbonate, and protons. Discovered more than 80 years ago, in 1933, these enzymes have been extensively investigated due to the biomedical application of their inhibitors, but also because they are an extraordinary example of convergent evolution, with seven genetically distinct CA families that evolved independently in Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya. CAs are also among the most efficient enzymes known in nature, due to the fact that the uncatalyzed hydration of CO2 is a very slow process and the physiological demands for its conversion to ionic, soluble species is very high. Inhibition of the CAs has pharmacological applications in many fields, such as antiglaucoma, anticonvulsant, antiobesity, and anticancer agents/diagnostic tools, but is also emerging for designing anti-infectives, i.e., antifungal, antibacterial, and antiprotozoan agents with a novel mechanism of action. Mitochondrial CAs are implicated in de novo lipogenesis, and thus selective inhibitors of such enzymes may be useful for the development of new antiobesity drugs. As tumor metabolism is diverse compared to that of normal cells, ultimately, relevant contributions on the role of the tumor-associated isoforms CA IX and XII in these phenomena have been published and the two isoforms have been validated as novel antitumor/antimetastatic drug targets, with antibodies and small-molecule inhibitors in various stages of clinical development. CAs also play a crucial role in other metabolic processes connected with urea biosynthesis, gluconeogenesis, and so on, since many carboxylation reactions catalyzed by acetyl-coenzyme A carboxylase or pyruvate carboxylase use bicarbonate, not CO2, as a substrate. In organisms other than mammals, e.g., plants, algae, and cyanobacteria, CAs are involved in photosynthesis, whereas in many parasites (fungi, protozoa), they are involved in the de novo synthesis of important metabolites (lipids, nucleic acids, etc.). The metabolic effects related to interference with CA activity, however, have been scarcely investigated. The present Special Issue of Metabolites aims to fill this gap by presenting the latest developments in the field of CAs and their role in metabolism.

In this compilation, the authors address the relationship between carbonic anhydrase IX and hypoxia. Hypoxia is a key factor influencing a life-cycle of CA IX, including its expression, correct structure, stability, function, and subsequent biological implications. Hypoxia also regulates CA IX expression by post-transcriptional mechanisms through splicing and mRNA stabilization. A review is provided focusing on the sequence of elementary reactions ensuing a catalytic reaction (catalytic mechanism) of carbonic anhydrase. The closing chapter discusses carbonic anhydrases in chloroplasts, especially their location in the organelles, as well as considers their uses.

This book offers deep insights into the thermodynamics and molecular structures of the twelve catalytically active isoforms of human carbonic anhydrase (CA) with a particular focus on inhibitor binding for drug design. X-ray crystallographic structures in combination with enzyme kinetic testing provide information on the interaction of CAs and their inhibitors, knowledge which is crucial for rational drug design. CAs are zinc carrying enzymes that catalyse the reversible interconversion of carbon dioxide and bicarbonate and are involved in numerous cellular processes. They are therefore a common target for drugs. The suppression of CA activities through inhibitory compounds has found application for example in diuretics and in glaucoma therapy. In this book methods used to determine binding thermodynamics of inhibitory compounds (Isothermal titration calorimetry, Fluorescent thermal shift assay/differential scanning fluorimetry and others) will be compared in detail. Also types and chemical synthesis of CA inhibitors, the use of antibodies against CAs as well as inhibitor application in animals are discussed.