Soluble Adenylyl Cyclase Regulates Bile Salt‐Induced Apoptosis in Human Cholangiocytes
Jung‐Chin Chang, Simei Go, Dirk R. de Waart, Patricia Munoz‐Garrido, Ulrich Beuers, Coen C. Paulusma, Ronald Oude Elferink – 17 March 2016 – Anion exchanger 2 (AE2), the principal bicarbonate secretor in the human biliary tree, is down‐regulated in primary biliary cholangitis. AE2 creates a “bicarbonate umbrella” that protects cholangiocytes from the proapoptotic effects of bile salts by maintaining them deprotonated. We observed that knockdown of AE2 sensitized immortalized H69 human cholangiocytes to not only bile salt‐induced apoptosis (BSIA) but also etoposide‐induced apoptosis.