Sweet Binders: Carbonic Anhydrase IX in Complex with Sucralose.

Carbonic anhydrase IX (CA IX) expression is important for the regulation of pH in hypoxic tumors and is emerging as a therapeutic target for the treatment of various cancers. Recent studies have demonstrated the selectivity of sucrose, saccharin, and acesulfame potassium for CA IX over other CA isoforms. Reported here is the X-ray crystal structure of CA IX-mimic in complex with sucralose determined to ∼1.5 Å resolution. Furthermore, this structure is compared to the aforementioned sweetener/carbohydrate structural studies in order to determine active site properties of CA IX that promote selective binding. This structural analysis provides a further understanding of CA IX isoform specific inhibition to facilitate the design of new inhibitors and anticancer drugs.