This gene belongs to a small family of sodium-coupled bicarbonate transporters (NCBTs) that regulate the intracellular pH of neurons, the secretion of bicarbonate ions across the choroid plexus, and the pH of the brain extracellular fluid. The protein encoded by this gene was initially identified as a sodium-driven chloride bicarbonate exchanger (NCBE) though there is now evidence that its sodium/bicarbonate cotransport activity is independent of any chloride ion countertransport under physiological conditions. This gene is now classified as a member A10 of the SLC4 family of transmembrane solute carriers. Alternative splicing results in multiple transcript variants encoding distinct isoforms.[provided by RefSeq, May 2010].
Function: Electrogenic sodium/bicarbonate cotransporter in exchange for intracellular chloride. Plays an important role in regulating intracellular pH (By similarity).