Ben Yong, Chen Jie, Zhu Rong, Gao Lei, Bai Chunxue
Department of Pulmonary Medicine, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, No. 180 Fenglin Road, Shanghai 20032, China.
Respir Physiol Neurobiol. 2008 Apr 30;161(2):111-8. doi: 10.1016/j.resp.2007.12.007. Epub 2008 Jan 6.
Aquaporins (AQPs) are membrane channel proteins that play roles in the regulation of water permeability in many tissues. AQP1 and AQP5 expressed in lung provide the principal route for osmotically driven water transport. In the airways, AQP3 and AQP4 facilitate water transport. Dexamethasone and ambroxol are often used to treat patients with pulmonary diseases accompanied by airway hypersecretion. The role of AQPs in these effective treatments has not been addressed. In this study, we analyzed the expression of AQPs in a human airway epithelial cell line (A549 cells) and showed that AQP3 and 5, but not AQP1 and 4, were expressed in A549 cells. Both dexamethasone and ambroxol stimulated the expression of AQP3 and 5 at the mRNA and protein levels. The data suggest potential roles of AQP3 and 5 in the regulation of airway hypersecretion, perhaps ultimately providing a target for treating such diseases.
水通道蛋白（AQPs）是膜通道蛋白，在许多组织中参与水通透性的调节。肺中表达的水通道蛋白1（AQP1）和水通道蛋白5（AQP5）为渗透驱动的水转运提供了主要途径。在气道中，水通道蛋白3（AQP3）和水通道蛋白4（AQP4）促进水的运输。地塞米松和氨溴索常用于治疗伴有气道高分泌的肺部疾病患者。水通道蛋白在这些有效治疗中的作用尚未得到研究。在本研究中，我们分析了水通道蛋白在人气道上皮细胞系（A549细胞）中的表达，结果表明A549细胞中表达的是水通道蛋白3和5，而非水通道蛋白1和4。地塞米松和氨溴索均在mRNA和蛋白质水平上刺激了水通道蛋白3和5的表达。这些数据表明水通道蛋白3和5在调节气道高分泌中可能发挥作用，或许最终可为这类疾病的治疗提供一个靶点。
