Controversies surrounding the role of CFTR in airway bicarbonate secretion

摘要

Bicarbonate (HCO_3 ) serves many functions in the human body. It is an important biological buffer required for maintaining intracellular and extracellular acid-base balance, and plays a key role in CO_2 transport by blood. Less well known is that HCO_3~(-) is secreted onto the mucosal surface of most epithelia where it is involved in a myriad of vital processes including sperm capacitation, innate defence, mucin expansion and mucosal protection.