Description
Carbonic anhydrases (CAs) are a large family of zinc metalloenzymes that catalyze the reversible hydration of carbon dioxide. They participate in a variety of biological processes, including respiration, calcification, acid-base balance, bone resorption, and the formation of aqueous humor, cerebrospinal fluid, saliva, and gastric acid. They show extensive diversity in tissue distribution and in their subcellular localization. This gene encodes carbonic anhydrase 5B. CA5B, and the related CA5A gene, has its expression localized in the mitochondria though CA5B has a wider tissue distribution than CA5A, which is restricted to the liver, kidneys, and skeletal muscle. A carbonic anhydrase pseudogene (CA5BP1) is adjacent to the CA5B gene and these two loci produce CA5BP1-CA5B readthrough transcripts.