Bile acids are transported across the ileal enterocyte brush border membrane by the well characterized apical sodium-dependent bile acid transporter (Asbt) Slc10a2; however, the carrier(s) responsible for transporting bile acids across the ileocyte basolateral membrane into the portal circulation have not been fully identified. Transcriptional profiling of wild type and Slc10a2 null mice was employed to identify a new candidate basolateral bile acid carrier, the heteromeric organic solute transporter (Ost)␣-Ost. By Northern blot analysis, Ost␣ and Ost mRNA was detected only in mouse kidney and intestine, mirroring the horizontal gradient of expression of Asbt in the gastrointestinal tract. Analysis of Ost␣ and Ost protein expression by immunohistochemistry localized both subunits to the basolateral surface of the mouse ileal enterocyte. The transport properties of Ost␣-Ost were analyzed in stably transfected Madin-Darby canine kidney cells. Coexpression of mouse Ost␣-Ost, but not the individual subunits, stimulated Na ؉ -independent bile acid uptake and the apical-to-basolateral transport of taurocholate. In contrast, basolateral-to-apical transport was not affected by Ost␣-Ost expression. Co-expression of Ost␣ and Ost was required to convert the Ost␣ subunit to a mature glycosylated endoglycosidase H-resistant form, suggesting that co-expression facilitates the trafficking of Ost␣ through the Golgi apparatus. Immunolocalization studies showed that co-expression was necessary for plasma membrane expression of both Ost␣ and Ost. These results demonstrate that the mouse Ost␣-Ost heteromeric transporter is a basolateral bile acid carrier and may be responsible for bile acid efflux in ileum and other ASBT-expressing tissues.