Meta-Biol

• Pathways

Carbonic anhydrase IV (CA4, Zhu and Sly 1990, Okuyama et al. 1992, Baird et al. 1997, Innocenti et al. 2004), carbonic anhydrase IX (CA9, Wingo et al. 2001, Hilvo et al. 2008), carbonic anhydrase XII (CA12, Ulmasov et al. 2000, Pastorekova et al. 2008), and carbonic anhydrase XIV (CA14Ozensoy et al. 2005, Temperini et al. 2008) are membrane-bound enzymes that hydrate extracellular carbon dioxide to yield bicarbonate and a proton.Carbonic anhydrase deprotonates water to yield a zinc-hydroxyl group and a proton which is transferred to external buffer molecules via histidine or glutamate residues in carbonic anhydrase. The hydroxyl group reacts with carbon dioxide in the active site to yield bicarbonate. A water molecule displaces the bicarbonate and the reaction cycle begins again (reviewed in Lindskog 1997). Depending on the concentrations of reactants the reaction is reversible.
CA4 has high catalytic activity. CA9, CA12, and CA14 have moderate activity. CA4 is anchored to the extracellular face of the plasma membrane by glycosylphosphatidylinositol. CA9, CA12, and CA14 are single-pass transmembrane proteins. CA4 is found on the extracellular face of capillaries in kidney, lung, and muscle where it maintains the gradient of carbon dioxide between tissue and blood. CA9 and CA12 are found on basolateral membranes of epithelia. CA9 is inducible by Hypoxia-inducible factor 1 alpha (HIF1alpha) and acidifies the extracellular environment of tumors. In rodents CA15 is membrane anchored and has low activity; in primates CA15 is a pseudogene.