Carbonic anhydrase IX (CAIX) is a pivotal pH regulator under hypoxia, which by its tumor-specific expression represents an attractive target for cancer therapy. Here, we report on effects of the sulfamate CAIX inhibitor S4 (4-(3'-(3″,5″-dimethylphenyl)ureido)phenyl sulfamate) in colorectal carcinoma cell lines. S4 was administered under experimental hypoxia or normoxia to HT29, KM20L2 and HCT116 cells. Effects on survival, proliferation, pH, lactate extrusion and CAIX protein expression were evaluated. S4 treatment resulted in attenuated hypoxia-induced extracellular acidification and reduced clonogenic survival under hypoxia in HT29 cells. The pH effects were present only in a [Formula: see text]-free buffer system and were accompanied by decreased lactate extrusion. The main finding of this work was that S4 treatment caused alterations in CAIX ectodomain shedding. This merits further investigation to understand how sulfamates influence CAIX activity and how such drugs may be of use in cancer treatment.
Keywords: Carbonic anhydrase IX; colorectal cancer; ectodomain shedding; extracellular pH; hypoxia; intracellular pH; sulfamate inhibitor.