Characterization and anions inhibition studies of an α-carbonic anhydrase from the teleost fish Dicentrarchus labrax

Carbonic anhydrase (CA; EC 4.2.1.1) was purified from the gill of the teleost fish Dicentrarchus labrax (European seabass). The purification procedure consisted of a single step affinity chromatography on Sepharose 4B-tyrosine-sulfanilamide. The enzyme was purified 84.9-fold with a yield of 58%, and a specific activity of 838.9 U/mg proteins. It has an optimum pH at 8.0; an optimum temperature at 10 °C. The kinetic parameters of this enzyme were determined for its esterase activity, with 4-nitrophenyl acetate (NPA) as substrate. The following anions, H2NSO3-, I−, SCN−, NO3-, NO2-, N3-, Br−, Cl−, SO42-, and F− showed inhibitory effects on the enzyme. Sulfamic acid, iodide, and thiocyanate exhibited the strongest inhibitory action, in the micromolar range (Kis of 87–187 μM). NO3-, NO2- and N3- were moderate inhibitors, whereas other anions showed only weak actions. All tested anions inhibited the enzyme in a competitive manner. Our findings indicate that these anions inhibit the fish enzyme in a similar manner to other α-CAs from mammals investigated earlier, but the susceptibility to various anions differs significantly between the fish and mammalian CAs.

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