King Landon S, Kozono David, Agre Peter
Department of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 5501 Hopkins Bayview Circle, Baltimore, Maryland 21224, USA.
Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol. 2004 Sep;5(9):687-98. doi: 10.1038/nrm1469.
Our understanding of the movement of water through cell membranes has been greatly advanced by the discovery of a family of water-specific, membrane-channel proteins - the aquaporins. These proteins are present in organisms at all levels of life, and their unique permeability characteristics and distribution in numerous tissues indicate diverse roles in the regulation of water homeostasis. The recognition of aquaporins has stimulated a reconsideration of membrane water permeability by investigators across a wide range of disciplines.
水特异性膜通道蛋白家族——水通道蛋白的发现，极大地推动了我们对水通过细胞膜运动的理解。这些蛋白质存在于所有生命层次的生物体中，它们独特的通透性特征以及在众多组织中的分布表明，其在水稳态调节中发挥着多种作用。水通道蛋白的发现促使众多学科的研究人员重新审视膜的水通透性。
