A Simple Yet Multifaceted Enzyme

Abstract

Carbonic anhydrases (CAs) are involved in many physiological and pathological .events in organisms all over the phylogenetic tree. Over the last three decades I was involved in unravelling the biochemical basic phenomena connected to these enzymes and in drug design of modulators of their activity (inhibitors and activators). The various approaches I developed were applied to many types of such enzymes and allowed the discovery of many classes of highly isoform-selective inhibitors. This afforded new applications of the inhibitors for the management of hypoxic tumors, neuropathic pain, cerebral ischemia, arthritis, degenerative disorders apart the classical ones connected with these drugs (diuretics, antiglaucoma, antiepileptic and antiobesity action). The study of CA activators showed that these enzymes may represent a crucial family of new targets for improving cognition as well as in therapeutic areas, such as phobias, obsessive-compulsive disorder, generalized anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorders, for which few efficient therapies are available.