Carbonic anhydrase inhibitors: interactions of phenols with the 12 catalytically active mammalian isoforms (CA I-XIV)
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Updated: Jul 7, 2026

Method for Identifying Small Molecule Inhibitors of the Protein-protein Interaction Between HCN1 and TRIP8b
Published on: November 11, 2016
Alessio Innocenti1, Daniela Vullo, Andrea Scozzafava
1Università degli Studi di Firenze, Polo Scientifico, Laboratorio di Chimica Bioinorganica, Rm. 188, Via della Lastruccia 3, 50019 Sesto Fiorentino (Florence), Italy.
Abstract:
The inhibition of the metalloenzyme carbonic anhydrase (CA, EC 4.2.1.1) with three phenols was investigated. Phenol was an effective CA I-IV, IX, XII and XIV inhibitor (K(I)s of 2.7-11.5 microM) and a less effective one against the other isoforms, CA VA, VB, VI, VII, and XIII (K(I)s of 208-710 micraoM). 3,5-Difluorophenol was an effective inhibitor of CA III, IV, IX, and XIV (K(I)s of 0.71-10.7 microM) being a weaker one for CA I, II, VA, VB, VI, VII, XII, and XIII (K(I)s of 33.9-163 microM). Clioquinol (5-chloro-7-iodo-8-quinolinol) was the best phenol inhibitor against all isozymes, with inhibition constants in the range of 3.3-16.0 microM. These data prove that the phenol OH moiety can be considered as a new 'zinc-water binding group' for the design of CA inhibitors possessing a different inhibition mechanism as compared to the classical sulfonamide inhibitors that bind the metal ion within the active site cavity.
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