Figure 2.
General scheme showing CAIs belonging to the zinc binders class (sulphonamides, sulphamates, sulphamides, carboxylates, hydroxamates, phosphonates, borols, etc.) in interaction with an α-CA1,3. The ZBG is coordinated to the metal ion and makes hydrogen bonds with the gate keeper residues Thr199–Glu106, conserved in all α-CAs1–3. The scaffold of the inhibitor may occupy either the hydrophylic or hydrophobic (or both) halves of the active site12, whereas the tails are orientated towards the exit of the cavity where the most variable amino acid residues among the different mammalian CAs are located26–28. The interactions between the scaffold/tail with the enzyme are not shown.