Aquaporins

Abstract

Aquaporins are a family of integral membrane proteins that are expressed in all living organisms and play vital roles in transcellular and transepithelial water movement. Cell viability and motility are critical for progression of cancer. Cell survival requires the suitable concentration of water and solutes. The balance is largely maintained by aquaporins whose major function is the transport of water and small solutes across the plasma membrane. The important role of aquaporins has received more and more attention in the recent years. A number of recent studies have revealed that aquaporins may be involved in cell migration and angiogenesis. This review will highlight the expression of aquaporins in different malignant neoplasms. Remarkably, we will summarize the influence of drugs on aquaporins, not only the traditional Chinese medicine but also the Western medicine. Therapeutic targeting of aquaporins may thus be advantageous for blocking the mechanism common for a number of key cancer phenotypes.

Pathological role of ion channels and transporters in the development and progression of triple-negative breast cancer

“…AQPs (which compose a family of transmembrane water channel proteins) modulate the movement of water and small solutes into and out of cells and maintain suitable concentrations of water and solutes for cell survival [ 15 ]. At least 13 AQP subtypes (AQP0-12) have been identified in mammals and are divided into two families based on transfer specificity, namely, the classic water-transporting AQP family and the solute-, water-, and glycerol-transporting glycoprotein family [ 16 ].…”

Aquaporins Involvement in Pancreas Physiology and in Pancreatic Diseases

“…In cancer, a leading cause of death worldwide, AQPs have been shown to be involved in cancer cell migration, adhesion, growth, proliferation, invasion and metastasis, as well as drug resistance, angiogenesis and epithelial–mesenchymal transition [27,28,49,50,110,111]. Studies have explored the role of AQPs in pancreatic cancers, especially in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) representing the most common type and being the most aggressive and lethal malignancy, with a five-year survival of only 7%.…”

“…Further studies using larger cohort of PDAC patients are required to assess further the beneficial value of using AQPs as markers of PDAC stages and prognosis, and to support the possible involvement of AQPs in epithelial–mesenchymal transition occurring in PDAC. Finally, additional studies will be required to decipher the molecular mechanisms underlying AQPs differential expression in PDAC, and the benefit of using appropriate therapeutic tools to target AQPs in PDAC [31,50,111].…”

Aquaporin 1, 3, and 5 Patterns in Salivary Gland Mucoepidermoid Carcinoma: Expression in Surgical Specimens and an In Vitro Pilot Study

“…Due to their role as water channel structures, they are essential in the physiology of salivary glands and saliva production [5,6]. Several studies have suggested that AQPs may be involved in processes such as cellular migration, angiogenesis, organ regeneration, wound healing, and tumorigenesis [2,4,[6][7][8][9][10][11][12].…”

“…Some authors have associated AQP expression with tumor grade, angiogenesis, and tumor-associated edema. However, the molecular mechanisms of AQP function in tumors are unclear because both overexpression and underexpression of these proteins have been related to poor prognoses of adenocarcinomas of many organs such as lung, pancreas, stomach, liver, and colon, among others [2,[8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]. A few studies have also evaluated the expression of AQPs in the development and progression of salivary gland tumors, with special attention given to AQP3 and AQP5, because they are the predominant AQPs of normal salivary gland tissue.…”