Carbonic anhydrase inhibitors: the X-ray crystal structure of ethoxzolamide complexed to human isoform II reveals the importance of thr200 and gln92 for obtaining tight-binding inhibitors.

Ethoxzolamide, an almost forgotten inhibitor of the metalloenzyme carbonic anhydrase (CA, EC 4.2.1.1), is the only classical inhibitor whose structure in adduct with any isoform was not reported yet. We report here the inhibition data of this molecule with the 12 catalytically active mammalian isozymes (CA I-CA XIV) and the X-ray crystal structure with the cytosolic, ubiquitous isoform CA II. These data are presumably useful for the design of novel CA inhibitors, targeting various CA isozymes, considering that ethoxzolamide was already the lead molecule to obtain the second generation inhibitors, dorzolamide and brinzolamide, clinically used antiglaucoma agents with topical action, as well as various other investigational agents.

Molecular modeling study for the binding of zonisamide and topiramate to the human mitochondrial carbonic anhydrase isoform VA.

Zonisamide and topiramate are two antiepileptic drugs known to induce weight loss in epilepsy patients. These molecules were recently shown to act as carbonic anhydrase (CA) inhibitors, being presumed that the weight loss may be due to the inhibition of the mitochondrial isozymes CA VA and CA VB involved in metabolic processes, among which lipid biosynthesis. To better understand the interaction of these compounds with CAs, here, we report a homology modeling and molecular dynamics simulations study on their adducts with human carbonic anhydrase VA (hCA VA). According to our results, in both cases the inhibitor sulfamate/sulfonamide moiety participates in the canonical interactions with the catalytic zinc ion, whereas the organic scaffold establishes a large number of van der Waals and polar interactions with the active site cleft. A structural comparison of these complexes with the corresponding homologues with human carbonic anhydrase II (hCA II) provides a rationale to the different affinities measured for these drugs toward hCA VA and hCA II. In particular, our data suggest that a narrower active site cleft, together with a different hydrogen bond network arrangement of hCA VA compared to hCA II, may account for the different Kd values of zonisamide and topiramate toward these physiologically relevant hCA isoforms. These results provide useful insights for future design of more isozyme-selective hCA inhibitors with potential use as anti-obesity drugs possessing a novel mechanism of action.

Carbonic anhydrase inhibitors. Zonisamide is an effective inhibitor of the cytosolic isozyme II and mitochondrial isozyme V: solution and X-ray crystallographic studies.

The antiepileptic drug zonisamide was considered to act as a weak inhibitor of the zinc enzyme carbonic anhydrase (CA, EC 4.2.1.1) (with a K(I) of 4.3 microM against the cytosolic isozyme II). Here we prove that this is not true. Indeed, testing zonisamide in the classical assay conditions of the CO2 hydrase activity of hCA II, with incubation times of enzyme and inhibitor solution of 15 min, a K(I) of 10.3 microM has been obtained. However, when the incubation between enzyme and inhibitor was prolonged to 1 h, the obtained K(I) was of 35.2 nM, of the same order of magnitude as that of the clinically used sulfonamides/sulfamates acetazolamide, methazolamide, ethoxzolamide and topiramate (K(I)s in the range of 5.4-15.4 nM). The inhibition of the human mitochondrial isozyme hCA V with these compounds has been also tested by means of a dansylamide competition binding assay, which showed zonisamide and topiramate to be effective inhibitors, with K(I)s in the range of 20.6-25.4 nM. The X-ray crystal structure of the adduct of hCA II with zonisamide has also been solved at a resolution of 1.70 A, showing that the sulfonamide moiety participates in the classical interactions with the Zn(II) ion and the residues Thr199 and Glu106, whereas the benzisoxazole ring is oriented toward the hydrophobic half of the active site, establishing a large number of strong van der Waals interactions (<4.5 A) with residues Gln92, Val121, Phe131, Leu198, Thr200, Pro202.

Carbonic anhydrase inhibitors. Inhibition of isozymes I, II, IV, V and IX with complex fluorides, chlorides and cyanides.

The inhibition of five human carbonic anhydrase (hCA, EC 4.2.1.1) isozymes, the cytosolic hCA I and II, the membrane-bound hCA IV, the mitochondrial hCA V and the tumour associated, transmembrane hCA IX, with complex anions incorporating fluoride, chloride and cyanide, as well as B(III), Si(IV), P(V), As(V), Al(III), Fe(II), Fe(III), Pd(II), Pt(II), Pt(IV), Cu(I), Ag(I), Au(I) and Nb(V) species has been investigated. Apparently, the most important factors influencing activity of these complexes are the nature of the central metal ion/element, and its charge. Geometry of these compounds appears to be less important, since both linear, tetrahedral, octahedral as well as pentagonal bipyramidal derivatives led to effective inhibitors. However, the five isozymes showed very different affinities for these anion inhibitors. The best hCA I inhibitors were cyanide, dicyanocuprate and dicyanoaurate (K(I)s in the range of 0.5-7.7 microM), whereas the least effective were fluoride and hexafluoroarsenate. The best hCA II inhibitors were cyanide, hexafluoroferrate and tetrachloroplatinate (K(I)s in the range of 0.02-0.51 mM), whereas the most ineffective ones were fluoride, hexafluoroaluminate and chloride. The best hCA IV inhibitors were dicyanocuprate (K(I) of 9.8 microM) and hexacyanoferrate(II) (K(I) of 10.0 microM), whereas the worst ones were tetrafluoroborate and hexafluoroaluminate (K(I)s in the range of 124-126 mM). The most effective hCA V inhibitors were cyanide, heptafluoroniobate and dicyanocuprate (K(I)s in the range of 0.015-0.79 mM), whereas the most ineffective ones were fluoride, chloride and tetrafluoroborate (K(I)s in the range of 143-241 mM). The best hCA IX inhibitors were on the other hand cyanide, heptafluoroniobate and dicyanoargentate (K(I)s in the range of 4 microM-0.33 mM), whereas the worst ones were hexacyanoferrate(III) and hexacyanoferrate(II).

Carbonic anhydrase inhibitors. Inhibition of the membrane-bound human and bovine isozymes IV with sulfonamides.

An inhibition study of the human and bovine membrane-associated isozymes of carbonic anhydrase (CA, EC 4.2.1.1), hCA IV and bCA IV, with a series of sulfonamides and sulfamates, some of which are widely clinically used, such as acetazolamide, methazolamide, ethoxzolamide, topiramate, dorzolamide, dichlorophenamide, celecoxib, and valdecoxib among others, is reported. In contrast to bCA IV, which is generally strongly inhibited by most of these derivatives, hCA IV has a rather different inhibition profile. Several of these compounds such as acetazolamide, ethoxzolamide, and bromosulfanilamide are potent hCA IV inhibitors (K(i)'s of 74-93 nM), others, such as celecoxib and some halogenated sulfanilamides are medium potency inhibitors (K(i)'s of 450-880 nM) whereas most of them are weak hCA IV inhibitors (methazolamide: 6.2 microM; dorzolamide 8.5 microM; topiramate 4.9 microM; dichlorophenamide: 15.3 microM). The hCA IV/bCA IV inhibition ratios for all the investigated compounds ranged between 1.05 (for acetazolamide) and 198.37 (for dorzolamide). Based on these results, we doubt that hCA IV is indeed one of the main contributors to the intraocular pressure (IOP) lowering effects of sulfonamide CA inhibitors, in addition to hCA II, as hypothesized earlier by Maren et al. (Mol. Pharmacol.1993, 44, 901-906). Indeed, both the very good hCA IV inhibitors (acetazolamide and ethoxzolamide) as well as the quite weak hCA IV inhibitors (methazolamide, dorzolamide, or dichlorophanamide) are effective in lowering IOP when administered either systemically or topically. The membrane-associated isozyme which probably is critical for aqueous humor secretion is hCA XII and not hCA IV.

Carbonic anhydrase inhibitors: inhibition of the membrane-bound human isozyme IV with anions.

The membrane-associated human isozyme of carbonic anhydrase, hCA IV, has been investigated for its interaction with anion inhibitors, for the CO(2) hydration reaction catalyzed by this enzyme. Surprisingly, halides were observed to act as potent hCA IV inhibitors, with inhibition constants in the range of 70-90 microM, although most of these ions, and especially fluoride, the best hCA IV inhibitor among the halides, are weak inhibitors of other isozymes, such as hCA I, II and V. The metal poisons cyanate, cyanide and hydrogen sulfide were weaker hCA IV inhibitors (K(i)'s in the range of 0.6-3.9 mM), whereas thiocyanate, azide, nitrate and nitrite showed even weaker inhibitory properties (K(i)'s in the range of 30.8-65.1 mM). Sulfate was a good hCA IV inhibitor (K(i) of 9 mM), although it is a much weaker inhibitor of isozymes I, II, V and IX. Excellent hCA IV inhibitory properties showed sulfamic acid, sulfamide, phenylboronic acid and phenylarsonic acid, with K(i)'s in the range of 0.87-0.93 microM, whereas their affinities for the other investigated isozymes were in the millimolar range. The interaction of some anions with the mitochondrial isozyme hCA V has also been investigated for the first time here. It has been observed that among all these isozymes, hCA V has the lowest affinity for bicarbonate and carbonate (K(i)'s in the range of 82-95 mM), which may represent an evolutionary adaptation of this isozyme to the rather alkaline environment (pH 8.5) within the mitochondria, where hCA V plays important functions in some biosynthetic reactions involving carboxylating enzymes (pyruvate carboxylase and acetyl coenzyme A carboxylase). There are important differences of affinity for anions between the two membrane-associated isozymes, hCA IV and hCA IX.

Carbonic anhydrase inhibitors: inhibition of human cytosolic isozyme II and mitochondrial isozyme V with a series of benzene sulfonamide derivatives.

Among the 14 human isozymes of carbonic anhydrase (CA, EC 4.2.1.1) presently known, the cytosolic hCA II is the most active and plays a host of physiological functions, whereas the mitochondrial hCA V is unique due to its role in several biosynthetic reactions. An inhibition study of these isozymes with a series of sulfonamides is reported here, with the scope to detect lead molecules for the design of isozyme-specific CA inhibitors (CAIs) targeting the mitochondrial isoform. Indeed, recently it has been shown that CA V is a novel target for the drug design of anti-obesity agents among others. Compounds included in this study were mainly ortho-, meta-, and para-substituted-benzenesulfonamides, together with several halogeno-substituted sulfanilamides and disubstituted-benzene-1,3-disulfonamide derivatives. Isozyme V showed an inhibition profile with these sulfonamides different of that of hCA II. Thus, IC(50) values in the range of 80 nM to 74 microM against hCA II, and 0.78-63.7 microM against hCA V with these derivatives have been obtained. Only one compound, 2-carboxymethyl-benzenesulfonamide, was more active against hCA V over hCA II (selectivity ratio of 1.39), whereas all other derivatives investigated here were much better hCA II inhibitors (selectivity ratios CA II/CA V in the range of 0.0008-0.73) than hCA V inhibitors.

Carbonic anhydrase inhibitors: inhibition of human and murine mitochondrial isozymes V with anions.

In addition to sulfonamides, metal complexing anions represent the second class of inhibitors of the zinc enzyme carbonic anhydrase (CA, EC 4.2.1.1). The first inhibition study of the mitochondrial isozyme CA V (of murine and human origin) with anions is reported here. Inhibition data of the cytosolic isozymes CA I and CA II as well as the membrane-bound isozyme CA IV with a large number of anionic species such as halides, pseudohalides, bicarbonate, nitrate, hydrosulfide, arsenate, sulfamate, and sulfamidate and so on, are also provided for comparison. Isozyme V has an inhibition profile by anions completely different to those of CA I and IV, but similar to that of hCA II, which may have interesting physiological consequences. Similarly to hCA II, the mitochondrial isozymes show micro-nanomolar affinity for sulfonamides such as sulfanilamide and acetazolamide.