Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0086543 (cataract)
 29,165 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

1. It now appears that when water crosses an endothelium which is not fenestrated, or an epithelium with tight junctions, it does so rapidly, and with low energy cost, only if the cell membrane contains an adequate number of specific water channels, encoded by one of at least six different genes. 2. The water channel genes so far cloned encode a series of integral membrane proteins called aquaporins, all of approximately 30 kDa (265-282 amino acids), in the unglycosylated state. All but one (AQP3) are specific water channels and all but one (AQP4) are inactivated by mercurial compounds. 3. Aquaporin 0 is the major (60%) intrinsic protein (MIP) of lens fibre cells of the eye. Mutations in this gene are associated with cataract formation in mice. 4. Aquaporin 1, also called CHIP-28, exists in the membrane as a homotetramer, and is present in red blood cells, the choroid plexus, the proximal tubule and descending limb of the loop of Henle in the kidney as well as in many other sites. Surprisingly, no pathological consequence is known in patients lacking a functional AQP1 gene. 5. Aquaporin 2, also called WCH-CD, is the water channel of the principal cell of the cortical and medullary collecting duct, and is located in cytoplasmic vesicles unless arginine vasopressin is acting, when it is translocated to the apical membrane by synaptobrevins or vesicle associated membrane protein 2 (VAMP2). Lack of a functional AQP2 gene leads to a rare form of nephrogenic diabetes insipidus. 6. Aquaporins 3, 4, and 5 are located in many tissues-AQP3 and AQP4 being in the basolateral membrane of the renal cortical and medullary principal cell, as well as in the gastrointestinal tract (AQP3) and the brain (AQP4). 7. Four sequences are known for urea transporters HUT11-the urea transporter of the human red cell membrane, and HUT2, rUT2, rbUT2-the arginine vasopressin inducible urea transporters of the human, rat and rabbit kidney. They are specifically permeable to urea, not to water, and are claimed to be inhibited by phloretin. 8. The water channel proteins contain six membrane-spanning regions, whilst the urea transporters are thought to contain at least 10 membrane spanning segments. 9. Very little work has examined the ontogeny of these proteins, except in the rat, and virtually nothing is known of the expression of these genes in pregnancy or in any disorder of fluid balance in the mother or foetus.
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PMID:Water channels and urea transporters. 904 98

Corneas with edema-related diseases lose transparency, which causes significant vision loss. This study analyzed seven aquaporins (AQPs) in normal corneas, pseudophakic/aphakic bullous keratopathy (PBK/ABK) corneas, Fuchs' dystrophy corneas, keratoconus corneas, post-cataract surgery (PCS) corneas, and normal organ-cultured corneas. RNA levels for AQP1, AQP4, and beta2-microglobulin were measured by RT-PCR. AQP1 antibody localized to stromal cells of all corneas. PBK/ABK and Fuchs' dystrophy corneas had decreased endothelial cell staining compared with normal. AQP1 mRNA was found in whole corneas and cultured stromal fibroblasts but not in isolated epithelial cells. AQP3 staining was found in basal epithelial cells of the normal, Fuchs' dystrophy, and keratoconus corneas but throughout the entire epithelium of PBK/ABK corneas. AQP4 antibody localized to endothelial cells of all corneas and in stromal cells of PBK/ABK corneas. AQP4 mRNA was identified in whole human corneas. AQP5 was found in epithelial cells of all corneas. AQP0, AQP2, and AQP9 were not found in any corneas. Normal AQP distributions were found in PCS and organ-cultured corneas, although they showed signs of swelling. Our study demonstrates that AQP abnormalities are found in PBK/ABK corneas (decreased AQP1, increased AQP3 and AQP4) and Fuchs' dystrophy corneas (decreased AQP1). Although both have vision-disrupting corneal edema, the mechanisms of fluid accumulation may be different in each disease.
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PMID:Altered expression of aquaporins in bullous keratopathy and Fuchs' dystrophy corneas. 1538 80

Aquaporins (AQPs) constitute a major conduit for movement of water across plasma membranes. AQP0 is expressed in the fiber cells and is critical for lens transparency and homeostasis as mutations and knockout have resulted in dominant lens cataract. Several functions have been attributed for AQP0. In vitro and ex vivo experiments from several laboratories have confirmed the water permeability function of AQP0. However, this function seems paradoxical when the lens switches protein expression from AQP1 in the equatorial epithelial cells to 40 times less efficient AQP0 in the differentiating fiber cells. A possible explanation is AQP0 may perform unique function/s besides being a water pore. Indirect evidences including those from structural studies indicate a cell-to-cell adhesion role for AQP0. However, there is a lack of experimental evidence directly demonstrating the cell-to-cell adhesion capability of AQP0. We studied the adhesion property of human intact AQP0 by expressing it in adhesion-deficient mouse fibroblast L-cells using a newly devised method as well as a traditional assay. Our results reveal that AQP0 indeed can perform cell-to-cell adhesion. AQP1, two alternate splice variants of AQP4 (AQP4-M1and AQP4-M23) and E-cadherin were also tested to validate the results. Cell-to-cell adhesion and cell aggregation properties of AQP0 expressing L-cells were less than those of the positive control L-cells expressing mouse E-cadherin and greater than those of AQP4-M23. AQP1 or AQP4-M1 expressing cells did not show cell-to-cell adhesion or cell aggregation. To our knowledge, this is the first report validating the possible structural role of intact AQP0 as a cell-to-cell adhesion protein, using an in vitro expression system.
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PMID:Intact AQP0 performs cell-to-cell adhesion. 1985 66

Aquaporin (AQP) is a water channel protein that is expressed in the cell membranes. AQPs are related to several kinds of human diseases such as cataract. In the mammalian central nervous system (CNS), AQP4 is specifically expressed in the astrocyte membranes lining the perivascular and periventricular structures. AQP4 plays a role in the development of brain edema associated with certain brain disorders. Neuromyelitis optica (NMO) is a demyelinating disorder, and patients with NMO develop autoimmune antibodies against AQP4 in their serum. Therefore, AQP4 is involved in NMO pathogenesis. A new concept referred to as "glymphatic pathway" has been recently proposed to explain the lymphatic system in the CNS. Dysfunction of the "glymphatic pathway" may cause several neurodegenerative diseases and mood disorders. Importantly, AQP4 may play a role in the "glymphatic pathway". Further investigation of AQP4 in CNS disorders is necessary, and a new drug against AQP4 is expected.
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PMID:[Roles of Aquaporins in Brain Disorders]. 2606 88