Carbonic anhydrase 12 is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the CA12 gene. 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. This gene product is a type I membrane protein that is highly expressed in normal tissues, such as kidney, colon and pancreas, and has been found to be overexpressed in 10% of clear cell renal carcinomas. Two transcript variants encoding different isoforms have been identified for this gene.