The slc4a10 gene encodes an electroneutral Na(+)-dependent HCO(3)(-) importer for which the precise mode of action remains unsettled. To resolve this issue, intracellular pH (pH(i)) recordings were performed upon acidification in the presence of CO(2)/HCO(3)(-) by 2',7'-bis(carboxyethyl)-5,6-carboxyfluorescein (BCECF) fluorometry of stably slc4a10-transfected NIH-3T3 fibroblasts. slc4a10 expression induced a significant Na(+)-dependent pH(i) recovery, which was accompanied by an increase in the intracellular Na(+) concentration evaluated by use of the Na(+)-sensitive fluorophore CoroNa Green. The estimated Na(+):HCO(3)(-) stoichiometry was 1:2. Cl(-) is most likely the counterion maintaining electroneutrality because (i) Na(+)-dependent pH(i) recovery was eliminated in Cl(-)-depleted cells; (ii) acute extracellular Cl(-) removal led to a larger alkalization in slc4a10-transfected cells than in control cells; and (iii) the 4,4'-diisothiocyanato-stilbene-2,2'-disulfonic acid (DIDS)-sensitive and Na(+)- and HCO(3)(-)-dependent (36)Cl(-)-efflux during pH(i) recovery was significantly greater in acidified slc4a10-transfected cells than in control cells. Charged amino acids specific to slc4a gene family members that transport Na(+) and are expected to move more HCO(3)(-) molecules/turnover were targeted by site-directed mutagenesis. Na(+)-dependent pH(i) recovery was reduced in each of the single amino acid mutated cell lines (E890A, E892A, H976L, and H980G) compared with wild type slc4a10-transfected cells and completely eliminated in quadruple mutant cells. In conclusion, the data suggest that slc4a10 expressed in mammalian cells encodes a Na(+)-dependent Cl(-)/HCO(3)(-) exchanger in which four specific charged amino acids seem necessary for ion transport.