Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.
Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of California, Davis, California.
Am J Physiol Cell Physiol. 2021 May 1;320(5):C771-C777. doi: 10.1152/ajpcell.00608.2020. Epub 2021 Feb 24.
Aquaporin (AQP) water channels facilitate passive transport of water across cellular membranes following an osmotic gradient. AQPs are expressed in a multitude of epithelia, endothelia, and other cell types where they play important roles in physiology, especially in the regulation of body water homeostasis, skin hydration, and fat metabolism. AQP dysregulation is associated with many pathophysiological conditions, including nephrogenic diabetes insipidus, chronic kidney disease, and congestive heart failure. Moreover, AQPs have emerged as major players in a multitude of cancers where high expression correlates with metastasis and poor prognosis. Besides water transport, AQPs have been shown to be involved in cellular signaling, cell migration, cell proliferation, and regulation of junctional proteins involved in cell-cell adhesion; all cellular processes which are dysregulated in cancer. This review focuses on AQPs as regulators of junctional proteins involved in cell-cell adhesion.
水通道蛋白（AQP）水通道在渗透梯度下促进水分子在细胞膜上的被动运输。AQP 在多种上皮细胞、内皮细胞和其他细胞类型中表达，在生理学中发挥着重要作用，特别是在调节体内水稳态、皮肤水合和脂肪代谢方面。AQP 失调与许多病理生理状况有关，包括肾性尿崩症、慢性肾脏病和充血性心力衰竭。此外，AQP 已成为多种癌症的主要参与者，其中高表达与转移和预后不良相关。除了水的运输，AQP 还被证明参与细胞信号转导、细胞迁移、细胞增殖以及参与细胞间黏附的连接蛋白的调节；所有这些细胞过程在癌症中都失调。本综述重点关注作为参与细胞间黏附的连接蛋白调节剂的 AQP。
