The project "Carbonic anhydrase function in relation to pH regulation" is lead by Pawel Swietach and Richard Vaughan-Jones (UOXF).CO₂/HCO₃⁻ plays a central role in pH homeostasis by acting as a major intra- and extracellular pH-buffer and as a source of substrate for HCO₃⁻-dependent pH-regulating transporter proteins. The ability of CO₂/HCO₃⁻ to serve these roles can be limited by its inherently slow reaction kinetics. Many cancer types have been linked with the expression of extracellular-facing carbonic anhydrases (CAIX, CAXII) which catalyseCO₂/HCO₃⁻ inter-conversion. The project will study CA function in relation to spatial pH regulation in spheroids derived from wild-type and CAIX/CAXII transfected pancreatic cell-lines.