The Aquaporins: Regulator for Brain Pathophysiology
Journal Title: International Neuropsychiatric Disease Journal - Year 2015, Vol 4, Issue 1
Abstract
Water transport is a fundamental process contributing to human physiology and pathophysiology. Water is primarily needed for all cell types but the water does not sit in the cells it moves through in very organized way. This process of movement is occurring through aquaporins. Aquaporins (AQPs) are expressed in tissues in which edema and fluid imbalances are of major concern. Three major water-channel proteins (AQP1, AQP4, AQP9) are expressed in brain. Potential roles of AQPs in brain are water homeostasis, edema, angiogenesis, cell migration and development. Beside their physiological expression patterns in the brain, AQPs are abnormally expressed in some pathological conditions e.g. cancer, neuroinflammatory diseases and neurodegenerative diseases, in which preservation of brain homeostasis is at risk. In mammalian brain, AQP4 water channels are localised in astroglial cells at the blood-brain-barrier interface; AQP1 channels are expressed in choroid plexus and serve in cerebral spinal fluid secretion. Some of glial cells and neurons also show the expression of AQPs though the function is still not known. These aquaporins being integral membrane proteins have an important role in various neurodegenerative diseases, thereby signifying their therapeutic importance. Furthermore the enhanced expression of AQP4 increases the water permeability of blood vessels which could be an important aspect for understanding the ill effects of hypoxia. Research in this field has significantly in last few years, and the review focuses on functional roles of AQPs in brain related to physiology and pathophysiology.
Authors and Affiliations
Nilofar Khan, Neetu Kushwah, Dipti Prasad
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP241503
- DOI 10.9734/INDJ/2015/17580
- Views 99
- Downloads 0
Evaluation of Pain and Anxiety Levels Related to Diagnostic Punch Biopsy in Dermatology Outpatients: A Pilot Study
Aim: Literature data on the anxiety levels and pain perception during punch biopsy are lacking. Thus, the aim of the present study is to evalute the anxiety levels and pain perception during punch biopsy. Study Design:...
Correlations between the Serum Antibody Levels to Herpes Family Viruses and Multi-parametric Immunity Characteristics with Clinical Symptoms in Episodic Remittent form of Paranoid Schizophrenia
Background: Recent etiological studies for schizophrenia have been focused on the herpes family viruses. The majority of these studies were aimed at detection of increased specific antibodies level. An important aspect o...
Accuracy of Hyperintense Cerebrospinal Fluid Signals (CSF) on Inversion Recovery (IR) Images of Brain in the Diagnosis of Meningitis-a Cost Effective Experience from Third World Country
Objective: To detect the diagnostic accuracy of inversion recovery sequence in detection of meningitis taking cerebrospinal fluid as the gold standard. Material and Methods: This study was conducted in Aga Khan Universit...
Lamotrigine-induced Neutropenia Followed by Drug Eruption: A Case Report
A 55-year-old female with no physical problems was initially hospitalized for psychotic mania but soon discharged. A month later she was rehospitalized for bipolar depression and treated with lamotrigine (25 mg/day), ola...
Dream Anxiety in Patients with Rapid Eye Movement Dependent Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome
Aims: The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of the breathing disorders that arise during sleep and are predominantly observed in Rapid Eye Movement (REM) phase onto the dreams which have negative effects on...