Aquaporin Water Channels

Aquaporins (AQPs) are a family of integral membrane proteins, through which water and other small molecules pass across the lipid bilayer at high capacity. They are ubiquitously present in all five kingdoms of living organisms, consistent with the fundamental significance of water homeostasis for life. Since the discovery of the first aquaporin, AQP-1, various aquaporins have been found to play important roles in many physiological processes. The determination of AQP structures at atomic resolution and biochemical studies implicate the potential as drug targets for genetic or infectious diseases.