肺脏的水孔蛋白家族

90年代以来 ,作为膜上水分子通道的水孔蛋白(ａｑｕａｐｏｒｉｎｓ ,ＡＱＰｓ)家族克隆成功1,2 ] ,对自由水被动跨膜转运机制做出更加形象而深入的解释。肺脏的许多生理功能都有水分子运动的参与 ,同时许多肺脏疾病 ,如哮喘、肺水肿和急性呼吸窘迫综合征等也涉及肺内水运动平衡的紊乱。因此肺内水孔蛋白的分布及其病理生理意义日益受到重视。1　水孔蛋白的结构与功能特点水孔蛋白属于膜主体内在蛋白 (ｍａｊｏｒｉｎｔｅｒｎａｌｐｒｏｔｅｉｎ ,ＭＩＰ)家族的成员 ,目前在人类和哺乳动物身上共发现 10个亚型 ,广泛分布于多个组织器官 ,具…

Aquaporins in lung

Aquaporins (AQPs) is a novel family of membrane protein which is in charge of the transportation of water across the membranes. It has been testified that AQPs may be related to many physiological functions and pathophysiological disorders. In lung, 6 subtypes of AQPs were found, 4 of which have been located in certain tissue. AQP1, AQP3, AQP4 and AQP5 are located in upper respiratory tract and may contribute to the mucus production, bronchial moisturizing and gland secretion. AQP1 and AQP5 are located in lower respiratory tract and may participate in directing the water movement across the blood-gas barrier. AQPs in natal lung may be an important factor to accelerate the reabsorption of the lung liquid. In adult, some diseases such as asthma, pulmonary edema, adult respiratory distress syndrome, which have been considered unbalanced water movement, may be also concerned with AQPs. The relationship between lung edema and AQPs have not been elucidated in details. It should be verified how AQPs work in more organs and tissues as well as in some diseases.