Abstract
Aquaporin 4 (AQP4) is the predominant water channel in the mammalian brain and is mainly expressed in the perivascular glial endfeet at the brain-blood interface. Based on studies on AQP4(-/-) mice, AQP4 has been assigned physiological roles in stimulus-induced K(+) clearance, paravascular fluid flow, and brain edema formation. Conflicting data have been presented on the role of AQP4 in K(+) clearance and associated extracellular space shrinkage and on the stroke-induced alterations of AQP4 expression levels during edema formation, raising questions about the functional importance of AQP4 in these (patho)physiological aspects. Phosphorylation-dependent gating of AQP4 has been proposed as a regulatory mechanism for AQP4-mediated osmotic water transport. This paradigm was, however, recently challenged by experimental evidence and molecular dynamics simulations. Regulatory patterns and physiological roles for AQP4 thus remain to be fully explored.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Neurochemical Research |
| Volume | 40 |
| Issue number | 12 |
| Pages (from-to) | 2615-2627 |
| Number of pages | 13 |
| ISSN | 0364-3190 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Dec 2015 |