# Developing isozyme-selective inhibitors against carbonic anhydrase isozymes expressed in the eye

> **NIH NIH R21** · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS EL PASO · 2021 · $219,705

## Abstract

Project Summary
Our long-term goal is to characterize the structure and activity of proteins in the eye that are associated
with glaucoma pathogenesis, and thus present novel treatment strategies and therapeutics for glaucoma.
The objective of the current project is to develop isozyme-selective inhibitors against extracellular
carbonic anhydrase (CA) isozymes that are expressed in the eye, namely CA9, CA12, and CA14. These
inhibitors will enable dissection of the contribution of different CA isozymes to glaucoma and thereby
identify the best target protein for anti-glaucoma drug development. We propose to develop isozyme-
selective CA inhibitors using aptamer technology. Aptamers are short oligonucleotides that bind to a wide
range of biological molecules with high affinity and specificity. Aptamers are typically generated using a
combinatorial technique called systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (SELEX).
However, traditional SELEX selects aptamer sequences which are binders and not necessarily inhibitors.
To accommodate our need, we have developed a novel SELEX scheme, called “expanded SELEX
(eSELEX)”, which can generate isozyme-selective inhibitors against virtually any isozyme family.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10137250
- **Project number:** 5R21EY030981-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS EL PASO
- **Principal Investigator:** Chu-Young Kim
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $219,705
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-04-01 → 2023-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10137250

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10137250, Developing isozyme-selective inhibitors against carbonic anhydrase isozymes expressed in the eye (5R21EY030981-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10137250. Licensed CC0.

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