To investigate the role of AQP9 in brain edema, the expression of AQP9 in an infectious rat brain edema model induced by the injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was examined. Immunohistochemistry and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis demonstrated that the expressions of AQP9 mRNA and protein at all observed intervals were significantly increased in LPS-treated animals in comparison with the control animals. Time-course analysis showed that the first signs of blood-brain barrier disruption and the increase of brain water content in LPS-treated animals were evident 6 h after LPS injection, with maximum value appearing at 12 h, which coincided with the expression profiles of AQP9 mRNA and protein in LPS-treated animals. The further correlation analysis revealed strong positive correlations among the brain water content, the disruption of the blood-brain barrier and the enhanced expressions of AQP9 mRNA and protein in LPS-treated animals. These results suggested that the regulation of AQP9 expression may play important roles in water movement and in brain metabolic homeostasis associated with the pathophysiology of brain edema induced by LPS injection.
Aquaporins/genetics ; Aquaporins/*metabolism ; Blood-Brain Barrier/metabolism ; Brain/drug effects ; Brain/physiology ; Brain Edema/chemically induced ; Brain Edema/*metabolism ; Lipopolysaccharides ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Water/physiology

In recent years, the discovery and studies on aquaporin have made us have a more in-depth understanding about the physiological and pathological processes of water metabolism. Over years, however, there has been no quantitative study on the target sites of diuretic traditional Chinese medicines at the molecular level. In that case, aquaporin was found to been a new target molecule to explain the efficacy exertion of diuretic traditional Chinese medicines. By studying aquaporin, researchers can understand the implicit meaning of the diuretic effect of traditional Chinese medicines and conduct quantitative studies on the diuretic effect. So far, many scholars have conducted a series of studies in the traditional Chinese medicine field by using the findings on aquaporin and made certain advances. This article provides a summary about the efficacy exertion of diuretic traditional Chinese medicines through target molecule aquaporin.
Animals ; Aquaporins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Diuretics ; pharmacology ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; pharmacology ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Water ; metabolism

OBJECTIVEMany studies have shown that tissue development is closely correlated with fluid transport. Aquaporins (AQPs) are a group of cell membrane proteins that actively and selectively transport water. This study aimed to investigate the changes of AQPs expression during lung development in rats in order to elucidate the role of AQPs in the rat lung development.

METHODSAQP1, AQP3, AQP4 and AQP5 proteins and mRNA in the lung cell membrane were measured by immunohistochemistry and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) respectively in the 20-day-old embryo (E20), 7-day-old newborn rat, and one-month-old young and adult rats. The correlation between AQPs expression and lung development was studied.

RESULTSWith increasing age, the lung development showed a dynamic and successive course, with the most rapid from the fetus to the newborn rat, and then a slowed down afterwards. AQPs mRNA was weakly expressed in the lung of the E20 group. Lung AQPs mRNA and protein increased rapidly after birth until adulthood. The AQPs distribution patterns in the lung were unique with no duplication. There was a positive correlation between AQPs expression and lung development (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONSIn addition to being involved in the transepithelial transport of water in the lung, AQPs is also related to its development.

Animals ; Aquaporins ; analysis ; genetics ; physiology ; Immunohistochemistry ; Lung ; embryology ; metabolism ; RNA, Messenger ; analysis ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar

OBJECTIVETo study the effect of vasopressin on aquaporin 7 (AQP7) expression in rat inner ear and reveal the possible role of aquaporins in the formation of endolymphatic hydrops induced by vasopressin.

METHODSWistar rats were intraperitoneally injected with 50 microg/kg arginine vasopressin once a day for one week. Differentially expressed genes of aquaporins induced by vasopressin injection in rat inner ear were filtered by cDNA microarray. The changes of mRNA expression level of AQP7 in inner ear of rats treated with vasopressin injection were measured by RT-PCR.

RESULTSDifferentially expressed gene AQP7 of aquaporins induced by vasopressin injection was screened out in rat inner ear. The expression level of AQP7 mRNA in inner ear of rats treated with vasopressin injection was significantly lower.

CONCLUSIONVasopressin may down-regulate the expression of AQP7 mRNA in the endolymphatic sac and induce a decreased absorption of endolymph, which decreases the water permeability in the potassium ions recycle pathway in the organ of Corti and disturbs the circulation of endolymph, resulting in endolymphatic hydrops.

Animals ; Aquaporins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Arginine Vasopressin ; metabolism ; Ear, Inner ; metabolism ; Endolymphatic Hydrops ; genetics ; metabolism ; Gene Expression ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar

OBJECTIVE: To assess the association of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) of aquaporin 7 ( AQP7) and aquaporin 9 ( AQP9) genes and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) among ethnic Han Chinese population. METHODS: A case-control study involving 1194 subjects with T2DM and 1274 non-diabetic mellitus (NDM) subjects were enrolled. Genotypes of three SNPs (rs3758269 of AQP7 gene, rs16939881 and rs57139208 of AQP9 gene) were determined by using a MassArray method. The association of the three SNPs with T2DM was assess, and the correlation of glucose and lipid metabolism parameters with various SNP genotypes in the NDM group was analyzed. RESULTS: The allelic and genotypic frequencies of the three SNPs did not differ significantly between the two groups (P>0.05). Nor was there significant difference between the two groups with different genetic models (P>0.05). No significant association of genotypes of AQP7 gene rs3758269, AQP9 gene rs16939881 and rs57139208 with glucose and lipid metabolism parameters were observed in the NDM group (P>0.05). CONCLUSION The rs3758269 in AQP7 gene and rs16939881 and rs57139208 in AQP9 gene are not associated with the genetic susceptibility of T2DM among ethnic Han Chinese population.
Aquaporins/genetics* ; Case-Control Studies ; China ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2/genetics* ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease ; Humans ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide

OBJECTIVETo map the disease locus for a congenital cataract family, and detect the disease-causing gene.

METHODSAn autosomal dominant congenital cataract family was genotyped by genome wide scan using 382 autosomal microsatellite markers from ABI-MD10. Two-point linkage analysis was carried out by the MLINK program.

RESULTSThe disease locus of this family was mapped at 12p11.2-q15. Sequence analysis of a candidate gene-major intrinsic protein (MIP) revealed a novel missense mutation G-->A at the nucleotide 702 in exon 4, which resulted in a substitution of arginine to lysine at codon 233 (p.R233K).

CONCLUSIONThe mutation G-->A at nt702 in MIP gene was associated with the binocular polymorphic congenital cataract in the family. This transition occurring at the C-terminus of MIP might decrease the stability of the C-end of the protein and impact the function of the protein.

Aquaporins ; genetics ; Base Sequence ; Cataract ; genetics ; Exons ; genetics ; Eye Proteins ; genetics ; Female ; Genome, Human ; genetics ; Genomics ; Genotype ; Humans ; Male ; Mutation, Missense ; Pedigree ; Polymorphism, Genetic ; Sequence Analysis, DNA

Sjögren's syndrome is a kind of autoimmune disease, whose main clinical symptoms are dry mouth, dry eye and chronic parotid glandular inflammation. The conservative treatments include artificial tears or saliva,oral administration of corticosteroids,and immunosuppressantsl with limited effectiveness. Along with the development of molecular biology, vast attentions are being paid to researches on gene therapy for Sjögren's syndrome, hopefully to bring gospel to patients with Sjögren's syndrome. This article reviews the recent research progresses on transcatheter delivery of recombinant adenovirus vector with aquaporin gene in experimental treatment of Sjögren's syndrome.
Adenoviridae ; Aquaporins ; genetics ; Autoimmune Diseases ; therapy ; Catheters ; Genetic Therapy ; Genetic Vectors ; administration & dosage ; Humans ; Sjogren's Syndrome ; therapy

BACKGROUNDThe relationship between melanosis coli (MC) and aquaporin 8 (AQP8) has not yet been elucidated. The aim of this research was to investigate the relationship between the expression of AQP8 and the pathological mechanism of MC.

METHODSExpression of AQP8 was detected by immunohistochemistry and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in 37 MC colon tissues and 13 control colon tissues. Global gene expression analysis was also used to identify differently expressed genes. Its relationship with MC was analyzed by SPSS 11.5 statistical software.

RESULTSThe positive rate of AQP8 expression detected by immunohistochemistry in the MC group was 24.3% (9/37), significantly lower than the 69.2% (9/13) in the control group (P < 0.05). The relative expression level of AQP8 in MC group was 0.639 ± 0.160, lower than 0.921 ± 0.148 of controls (P < 0.05). Global gene expression analysis showed that AQP8 mRNA expression was downregulated in MC patients.

CONCLUSIONSThe decreased AQP8 expression in MC patients indicates that chronic use of laxatives containing anthraquinone may cause reduced water absorption. The expression of AQP8 may be related to MC.

Adult ; Aged ; Aquaporins ; analysis ; genetics ; Colonic Diseases ; etiology ; Female ; Gene Expression ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Male ; Melanosis ; etiology ; Middle Aged

OBJECTIVETo construct a short hairpin (sh)RNA targeting aquaglyceroporin 9 (AQP9) that effectively silences gene expression in liver cells in order to investigate of the role of AQP9 in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) pathogenesis using an in vitro cell model system.

METHODSSmall interfering (si)RNAs were designed against the human gene sequences encoding AQP9 (NCBI GenBank Accession No. AB008775) and unrelated control sequences, synthesized, annealed to form double-strands, and inserted into the pGenesil- 1 shRNA-expression plasmid. The silencing effects of the four pshRNA-AQP9 constructs (a-d) and the pshRNA-negative control construct were investigated by transfecting into the L02 human normal liver cell line and detecting expression of AQP9 mRNA and protein (relative to beta-actin) by reverse transcription-PCR and western blotting. The NAFLD cell model was established by treating L02 cells with oleic acid to induce fatty degeneration. After transfecting the NAFLD cell model with various constructs, the effects on NAFLD-related features were investigated by staining with Oil Red O (to detect lipid droplets) and performing enzymatic assays (to quantitate triglyceride (TG), free fatty acid (FFA) and glycerol content). The significance of intergroup differences was assessed by analysis of variance test.

RESULTSOf the four pshRNA-AQP9 constructs, pshRNA-AQP9a produced the most robust silencing effect on AQP9 mRNA (25.1 - 1.2% vs. untransfected: 39.3 +/- 1.7% and pshRNA-negative control: 39.4 +/- 1.5%, P < 0.01) and protein (25.4 - 2.0% vs. untransfected: 35.1 +/- 1.9% and psh-RNA-negative control: 35.6 +/- 2.3%, P < 0.01). Oleic acid-induced L02 cells showed enhanced AQP9 mRNA and protein expression, and increased intracellular content of lipid, TG, FFA, and glycerol, which were significantly reduced by pshRNA-AQP9a transfection (all P <0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe new pshRNA-AQP9a construct can efficiently reduce AQP9 expression in cultured human liver cells and relieve steatosis-related features in an NAFLD cell model, pshRNA-AQP9a represents a novel tool for studying the role ofAQP9 in NAFLD pathogenesis and its potential as a gene therapy strategy.

Aquaporins ; genetics ; Cell Line ; Fatty Liver ; genetics ; Gene Expression ; Genetic Vectors ; Hepatocytes ; metabolism ; Humans ; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease ; Plasmids ; RNA Interference ; RNA, Messenger ; RNA, Small Interfering

OBJECTIVETo observe the effects of electroacupuncture (EA) on cochlea morphology and expression of aquaporin 1 (AQP1) in guinea pigs with endolymphatic hydrops, so as to explore the possible mechanism of EA on endolymphatic hydrops.

METHODSForty guinea pigs were randomly divided into a blank group, a model group, a medication group and an EA group, 10 guinea pigs in each one. Model of endolymphatic hydrops was established by using intraperitoneal injection of aldosterone. Guinea pigs in the blank group and model group were treated with identical immobilization as EA group but no treatment was given; guinea pigs in the medication group were treated with intragastric administration of hydrochlorothiazide at a dose of 5 mg/kg, once a day for consecutive 10 days; guinea pigs in the EA group were treated with' EA at "Baihui" (GV 20) and "Tinggong"(SI 19), once a day for consecutive 10 days. The serum ionic concentration in each group was tested by turbidimetric method; hematoxylin-eosin staining was used to measure the severity of cochlea hydrops; immunohistochemical method was used to observe the expression of AQP1 in the cochlea.

RESULTS(1) There was no endolymphatic hydrops in the blank group, moderate-severe endolymphatic hydrops in the model group and slight endolymphatic hydrops in the EA group and medication group. (2) The concentration of K+ and Ca2+ in the EA group was higher than that in the model group and medication group (all P<0. 01); the concentration of Na+ was lower than that in the model group (P< 0. 01) but higher than that in the medication group (P<0. 01); the concentration of Cl- was higher than that in the medication group (P<0. 01), but not significantly different from the model group (P>0. 05). (3) The ratio of expression area of AQP1 in the model group was lower than that in the blank group (P<0. 01); the ratio of expression area of AQP1 in the EA group was higher than that in the model group (P<0. 01), and lower than that in the medication group without significant difference (P>0. 05).

CONCLUSIONEA could relieve the endolymphatic hydrops in guinea pigs; the mechanism is likely to be related with up-regulating the expression of AQP1 in cochlea and ion concentration might be an important factor involved.

Animals ; Aquaporins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Cochlea ; anatomy & histology ; metabolism ; Disease Models, Animal ; Electroacupuncture ; Endolymphatic Hydrops ; genetics ; metabolism ; therapy ; Guinea Pigs ; Humans ; Male