To test the hypothesis that rat hepatocyte canalicular Cl-/HCO-exchange activity might be regulated by HCO3-or protein kinase-induced changes in the apical targeting of vesicles, isolated rat hepatocytes were cultured in the presence or absence of HCO /CO2. Cl-/HCO-exchange activity increased in cells cultured in the presence of HCO /CO2 or when stimulated by dibutyryl cAMP. Both of these effects were blocked by either colchicine or the protein kinase C agonist phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate. Fluorescence and confocal microscopy, respectively, revealed increased pericanalicular-apical membrane localization of two canalicular markers, peanut agglutinin and a 11O-kDa canalicular ectoATPase, when hepatocyte couplets were preincubated in HCO /CO2-containing medium, an effect that was again blocked by colchicine. Dibutyryl cAMP also stimulated canalicular localization of the 11O-kDa protein. These rmdings suggest that hepatocyte Cl-/HCO-exchange activity is regulated by HCO /CO2 and by protein kinase A and protein kinase C agonists through microtubule-dependent targeting of vesicles containing this exchanger to the canalicular domain.The location of individual cell surface proteins to specific membrane domains is an essential property ofepithelial cells, including hepatocytes, that establishes their structural and functional polarity. The mechanisms by which these plasma membrane proteins are localized to different cell membrane domains and the signals used to guide this "targeting" are largely unknown.In hepatocytes, the canalicular membrane represents only 13% of the plasma membrane surface and is demarcated from the basolateral cell surface by the tight junctions. This apical domain expresses specific transport systems for excretion of bile acids and other organic anions and cations (1-4).A Na+-independent Cl-/HCO-exchanger has been localized to the canalicular domain (5). This ion exchanger is the mechanism by which the hepatocyte loads acid in defense of increases in intracellular pH (pHi) above its normal set point and is activated by an alkaline load (6).We originally observed that basal Cl--dependent HCO3 fluxes were higher in rat hepatocytes cultured in the presence as opposed to the absence of HCOT/C02-containing medium. Apical insertion and removal of ion transporters have been suggested as regulatory mechanisms in cells from the renal collecting tubule that secrete H+ or HCO-in response to changes in pH of their environment (7). Therefore, we hypothesized that the increased activity of the apical Cl-/ HCO-exchanger might also involve targeting of the exchanger to the canalicular domain when stimulated by changes in pHi and HCO3.To test this hypothesis, we studied the effects of (i) HCO-/CO2, (ii) inhibitors of microtubule and microfilaments, and (iii) activators of protein kinases A and C on Cl-/HCO-exchange activity in rat hepatocyte monolayers.The publication costs of this article were defrayed in part by page charge payment. This article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" in accordance w...