Signaling Mechanisms and Pharmacological Modulators Governing Diverse Aquaporin Functions in Human Health and Disease

Abstract

The aquaporins (AQPs) are a family of small integral membrane proteins that facilitate the bidirectional transport of water across biological membranes in response to osmotic pressure gradients as well as enable the transmembrane diffusion of small neutral solutes (such as urea, glycerol, and hydrogen peroxide) and ions. AQPs are expressed throughout the human body. Here, we review their key roles in fluid homeostasis, glandular secretions, signal transduction and sensation, barrier function, immunity and inflammation, cell migration, and angiogenesis. Evidence from a wide variety of studies now supports a view of the functions of AQPs being much more complex than simply mediating the passive flow of water across biological membranes. The discovery and development of small-molecule AQP inhibitors for research use and therapeutic development will lead to new insights into the basic biology of and novel treatments for the wide range of AQP-associated disorders.

Publication DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms23031388
Divisions: College of Health & Life Sciences > School of Biosciences
College of Health & Life Sciences
College of Health & Life Sciences > School of Biosciences > Cellular and Molecular Biomedicine
Aston University (General)
Additional Information: © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/). Funding: This work was supported by the Australian Research Council (grant number 19ARC_DP190 101745 to A.J.Y.), the UK Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (grant number BB/P025927/1 to R.M.B. and P.K.), the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Marie Sklodowska Curie, grant agreement No. 847,419 (MemTrain; a studentship to L.U.), an Aston University 50th Anniversary Fellowship (to P.K.), and GOstralia! PhD scholarship support (to K.W.).
Uncontrolled Keywords: Aquaporin (AQP),Facilitated diffusion,Fluid,Membranes,Osmosis,Secretion,Signaling,Water,Catalysis,Molecular Biology,Spectroscopy,Computer Science Applications,Physical and Theoretical Chemistry,Organic Chemistry,Inorganic Chemistry
Publication ISSN: 1422-0067
Last Modified: 27 Nov 2024 17:01
Date Deposited: 26 Jan 2022 13:02
Full Text Link:
Related URLs: https://www.mdp ... 7/23/3/1388/htm (Publisher URL)
PURE Output Type: Review article
Published Date: 2022-01-26
Accepted Date: 2022-01-20
Authors: Wagner, Kim
Unger, Lucas (ORCID Profile 0000-0001-5719-7893)
Salman, Mootaz M.
Kitchen, Philip (ORCID Profile 0000-0002-1558-4673)
Bill, Roslyn (ORCID Profile 0000-0003-1331-0852)
Yool, Andrea J.

Download

[img]

Version: Published Version

License: Creative Commons Attribution

| Preview

Export / Share Citation


Statistics

Additional statistics for this record