Applications of carbonic anhydrase inhibitors and activators in therapy

Inhibitors and activators of the zinc enzyme carbonic anhydrase (CA, EC4.2.1.1) have a large number of applications in therapy. Many types of such new derivatives have been reported recently, together with their potential applications as antiglaucoma, anticancer and anti-osteoporosis agents or for the management of a variety of neurological disorders, among others. Furthermore, some CA isozymes seem to be valuable markers of tumour progression in a variety of tissues and organs. The CA activators, although not clinically exploited up to now, seem to constitute a new revolutionary approach for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative disorders in need of memory therapy. Recent progress in all these areas, as well as in the characterisation of new such enzymes/isozymes isolated in many organisms/tissues and their detailed catalytic/inhibition mechanisms are, reviewed in the present paper.