Water transport across the mammalian collecting tubule is regulated by vasopressin-dependent aquaporin-2 insertion into and retrieval from the apical cell membrane. To establish a cell line that properly expresses aquaporin-2 and its hormone-dependent shuttling, Madin-Darby canine kidney cells were stably transfected with an aquaporin-2 expression construct. Cells of a representative clone (wil...

Membrane proteins constitute around two-thirds of therapeutic targets but present a significant challenge for structural analysis due to their low abundance and solubility. Existing methods rely on over-expression and/or purification the membrane protein, thus removing any links back actual physiological environment. Here, we demonstrate mass spectrometry an intact oligomeric protein directly f...

Aquaporins are tetrameric membrane-bound channels that facilitate transport of water and other small solutes across cell membranes. In eukaryotes, they are frequently regulated by gating or trafficking, allowing for the cell to control membrane permeability in a specific manner. Protein-protein interactions play crucial roles in both regulatory processes and also mediate alternative functions s...

In the renal collecting duct, vasopressin increases osmotic water permeability (P(f)) by triggering trafficking of aquaporin-2 vesicles to the apical plasma membrane. We investigated the role of vasopressin-induced intracellular Ca(2+) mobilization in this process. In isolated inner medullary collecting ducts (IMCDs), vasopressin (0.1 nm) and 8-(4-chlorophenylthio)-cAMP (0.1 mm) elicited marked...

To the Editor: In their review article on water balance, Knepper et al. (April 2 issue)1 discuss water channels (aquaporins) in renal tubular cells. They omit mention of the critical role played by aquaporin-1 in microvascular endothelia. In the renal microvasculature, endothelial aquaporin-1 mediates the osmotic water efflux across descending vasa recta and is required for regulation of medull...

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether escape from vasopressin-induced antidiuresis is associated with altered regulation of any of the known aquaporin water channels. After 4-d pretreatment with 1-deamino-[8-D-arginine]-vasopressin (dDAVP) by osmotic mini-pump, rats were divided into two groups: control (continued dDAVP) and water-loaded (continued dDAVP plus a daily oral water l...

The membranes of plant and animal cells contain aquaporins, proteins that facilitate the transport of water. In plants, aquaporins are found in the vacuolar membrane (tonoplast) and the plasma membrane. Many aquaporins are mercury sensitive, and in AQP1, a mercury-sensitive cysteine residue (Cys-189) is present adjacent to a conserved Asn-Pro-Ala motif. Here, we report the molecular analysis of...

All living beings need to solve the problem of controlled transport of water. To this purpose, a special group of integral membrane proteins called aquaporins has evolved. There are 13 known members of this family that act as channels for water and small solutes, such as glycerol and urea. Although they allow large flux of water, they successfully prevent passage of protons. Here, we present th...

BACKGROUND INFORMATION Transmembrane water flow is aided by water-specific channel proteins, aquaporins. Plant genomes code for approx. 35 expressed and functional aquaporin isoforms. Plant aquaporins fall into four different subfamilies of which the PIPs (plasma membrane intrinsic proteins) constitute the largest and evolutionarily most conserved subfamily with 13 members in Arabidopsis and ma...