Thermodynamics of carbonic anhydrase catalysis. A comparison between human isoenzymes B and C.

The CO2 hydration and HCO3- dehydration activities of human red cell carbonic anhydrase isozymes B and C (HCAB and HCAC) have been studied as a function of temperature from 0 degrees to 37 degrees C. The Arrhenius plots of ln kcat versus 1/T are linear for both isozymes in both hydration and dehydration reactions, indicating that the rate-determining steps remain unchanged over this temperature range. The 37 degrees C hydration kcat, at pH 7.5, is 13 X 10(5) s-1 for isozyme C and 0.71 X 10(5) s-1 for isozyme B. Km, for hydration, is 10 mM for C and 5 mM for B, and invariant with temperature. The uncatalyzed reactions are significantly affected by temperature, 30- to 40-fold rate enhancements being observed from 0 degrees to 37 degrees C. The enzyme-catalyzed processes are much less sensitive to temperature, the rate enhancements being 2- to 3-fold for HCAB and 5- to 6-fold for HCAC in this temperature range. These observations are consistent with a significant lowering of the free energy of activation by both isozymes. This effect is greater for C accounting for its higher catalytic power. The enthalpy of activation, at pH 7.5 and 8.2, in the rate-limiting step is considerably less for the B enzyme compared to C. This is, however, more than offset by a large negative entropy of activation in the case of HCAB. This observation indicates either a mechanistic difference in the rate-limiting events or a difference in the structural organizations of the active sites of the two isozymes, or both.