High-resolution structure of human carbonic anhydrase II complexed with acetazolamide reveals insights into inhibitor drug design
Robert McKenna, e-mail: [email protected]
Abstract
The crystal structure of human carbonic anhydrase II (CA II) complexed with the inhibitor acetazolamide (AZM) has been determined at 1.1 Å resolution and refined to an Rcryst of 11.2% and an Rfree of 14.7%. As observed in previous CA II–inhibitor complexes, AZM binds directly to the zinc and makes several key interactions with active-site residues. The high-resolution data also showed a glycerol molecule adjacent to the AZM in the active site and two additional AZMs that are adventitiously bound on the surface of the enzyme. The co-binding of AZM and glycerol in the active site demonstrate that given an appropriate ring orientation and substituents, an isozyme-specific CA inhibitor may be developed.
