A comparative electrophoretic analysis of mammalian carbonic anhydrase isozymes: evidence for a third isozyme in red...

1. Starch gel electrophoretic patterns of carbonic anhydrase (CA) isozymes were examined from tissue extracts of cats, sheep, rabbits and mice. 2. In addition to the widely distributed and extensively studied B and C isozymes, an additional isozyme (called CA-A) was observed. 3. Tissue distribution studies showed the A isozyme to be predominantly localized in red skeletal muscles, although this activity was also observed in white and "mixed" skeletal muscles of the cat, sheep and rabbit, as well as sheep lung and rabbit liver. 4. A, B and C isozymes of carbonic anhydrase from cat, sheep and mice exhibited independent variations in nett surface charge. In terms of decreasing anodal migration, the following results are reported: cat A greater than C greater than B; sheep C greater than B greater than A; and mouse B greater than C greater than A. 5. These results are consistent with the existence of 3 genetic loci encoding carbonic anhydrase in mammalian tissues.