Blowing off acid: a new tool to study Na+/HCO3- co-transport.

Investigation of the physiological functions and possible pathological roles of Na(+)/HCO(3)(-) co-transport in the heart has been hampered by uncertainty over the molecular identity of cardiac Na(+)/HCO(3)(-) co-transporter(s) and the absence of selective pharmacological inhibitors. In their paper published in this issue, Ch'en and colleagues describe the extensive characterization of S0859 as a high-affinity inhibitor of Na(+)/HCO(3)(-) co-transport in cardiac myocytes (Ch'en et al., 2008). The availability of S0859 provides a powerful new tool to investigate the (patho)physiological significance of Na(+)/HCO(3)(-) co-transport in the heart and other tissues.