December 19, 1991) ABSTRACT Excitatory synaptic transmission has been associated with a rapid alkalinition of the brain extracellular space. These pH shifts are markedly increased by acetazolamide, an inhibitor of carbonic anhydrase. Although this effect can be readily explained by inhibition of extracellular carbonic anhydrase, this enzyme has been considered strictly intracellular in the central nervous system. To determine whether these alkaline shifts are regulated by extracellular carbonic anhydrase, we studied the effects of a membrane impermeant, dextran-bound inhibitor of this enzyme. Extraceflular alkaline transients, measured with pH-sensitive microelectrodes, were generated in the CAl region of rat hippocampal slices by repetitive electrical stimulation of Schaeffer collateral fibers or by local ejection of glutamate. More direct lkalinizations were elicited by focal ejection of NaOH in the vicinity of a pH microelectrode. These pH transients were reversibly enhanced by addition of the dextran-bound inhibitor. We conclude that there is significant carbonic anhydrase activity in the extracellular space of the brain. We postulate that this enzyme functions in the regulation and modulation of extracellular pH transients associated with neuronal activity.The enzyme carbonic anhydrase (CA) catalyzes the reversible hydration of CO2 and plays an important role in the function of erythrocytes and secretory epithelia (1). In the central nervous system, CA is abundant (2) and has been localized predominantly within glia (3-5) and choroid plexus (6). However, apart from its role in the secretion of cerebral spinal fluid (7,8), the functions of CA in the brain have remained obscure.While most forms of CA are intracellular, an extracellular isoform exists in several tissues, including kidney, lung, and muscle (9). Although there is no morphological evidence for extracellular CA in the brain, inhibitors of CA have been shown to have a large effect on the behavior of extracellular pH. Sulfonamide derivatives, such as acetazolamide, greatly increased the alkaline shifts associated with synaptic transmission (10-13). These effects could not be explained by enhancement of electrophysiological responses, since corresponding field potentials were unaffected. However, it remained unclear whether the action of acetazolamide was principally intracellular or extracellular, as this agent can readily penetrate cell membranes (1).It was subsequently noted that the effects of acetazolamide could be simply explained by a decrease in the extracellular buffering capacity (14). Experimental manipulation of the extracellular buffering power supported this view: synaptically evoked alkaline shifts were enhanced when bicarbonatebuffered saline was replaced by poorly buffered solutions containing Hepes (15,16). Although a role of metabolically generated CO2 could not be ruled out, the amplification and persistence of these alkalinizations in Hepes-buffered media suggested that shifts in CO2 and bicarbonate were not immediately respo...