Regulation of carbonic anhydrase III by thyroid hormone: opposite modulation in slow- and fast-twitch skeletal muscle

This laboratory previously reported that a major 30 kilodalton (kDa) protein of the soluble cytoplasmic fraction of the rat slow-twitch soleus muscle is modulated by thyroid hormone. This protein has been purified and a portion of the primary structure has been determined. The sequence analysis suggested that the 30-kDa protein is carbonic anhydrase III (CA III; EC 4.2.1.1). The reaction of the protein with a CA III specific antibody and the similar modulation of CA III by thyroid hormone also support this conclusion. Immunochemical quantification of CA III and measurement of CA activity were performed in skeletal muscles of defined fiber-type composition from rats that were rendered hyperthyroid by treatment with 3,3',5-triiodo-L-thyronine. These experiments revealed that CA activity and CA III content are deinduced in the soleus muscle (primarily type I fibers) and induced in the superficial vastus lateralis muscle (primarily type IIb), whereas no changes were detected in the tibialis anterior muscle (primary type IIa). These results show that the modulation of CA III by thyroid hormone in rat skeletal muscle is not limited to the slow-twitch soleus muscle and that the amplitude and direction of this modulation are directly related to the initial fiber-type composition of the skeletal muscle.