Structural highlights
Function
[AQP4_HUMAN] Forms a water-specific channel. Osmoreceptor which regulates body water balance and mediates water flow within the central nervous system.
Evolutionary Conservation
Check, as determined by ConSurfDB. You may read the explanation of the method and the full data available from ConSurf.
Publication Abstract from PubMed
Aquaporin (AQP) 4 is the predominant water channel in the mammalian brain, abundantly expressed in the blood-brain and brain-cerebrospinal fluid interfaces of glial cells. Its function in cerebral water balance has implications in neuropathological disorders, including brain edema, stroke, and head injuries. The 1.8-A crystal structure reveals the molecular basis for the water selectivity of the channel. Unlike the case in the structures of water-selective AQPs AqpZ and AQP1, the asparagines of the 2 Asn-Pro-Ala motifs do not hydrogen bond to the same water molecule; instead, they bond to 2 different water molecules in the center of the channel. Molecular dynamics simulations were performed to ask how this observation bears on the proposed mechanisms for how AQPs remain totally insulating to any proton conductance while maintaining a single file of hydrogen bonded water molecules throughout the channel.
Crystal structure of human aquaporin 4 at 1.8 A and its mechanism of conductance.,Ho JD, Yeh R, Sandstrom A, Chorny I, Harries WE, Robbins RA, Miercke LJ, Stroud RM Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2009 May 5;106(18):7437-42. Epub 2009 Apr 21. PMID:19383790[1]
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
See Also
References
- ↑ Ho JD, Yeh R, Sandstrom A, Chorny I, Harries WE, Robbins RA, Miercke LJ, Stroud RM. Crystal structure of human aquaporin 4 at 1.8 A and its mechanism of conductance. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2009 May 5;106(18):7437-42. Epub 2009 Apr 21. PMID:19383790
