Synopsis
Using a recent histochemical technique, non-erythrocytic carbonic anhydrase activity was demonstrated in lungs of the frog (Rana pipiens), toad (Bufo marinus), and turtle (Pseudemys scripta). The distribution of the activity as observed by light microscopy strongly suggested that it was related specifically to the capillaries. Electron histochemical studies of the turtle lung verified the capillary endothelium as the location of this activity. Biochemical assay of perfused lungs, corrected for erythrocyte contamination, confirmed the occurrence of carbonic anhydrase in the lung tissue proper. This report thus presents further biological validation of recently published techniques for demonstrating carbonic anhydrase activity and is in accord with certain physiological aspects of these species that may necessitate the presence of this enzyme in cells immediately adjacent to pulmonary blood.
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Fain, W., Rosen, S. Carbonic anhydrase activity in amphibian and reptilian lung: a histochemical and biochemical analysis. Histochem J 5, 519–528 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01012058
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01012058