Aquaporins as targets for drug discovery

Over the past decade, significant advances have been made in understanding how water moves in to and out of cells. Investigators have used molecular and structural biological techniques to show that nature has evolved specialized water-conducting proteins called aquaporins, which traverse biological membranes in the cells of animals, plants and even bacteria. It is becoming increasingly clear that these aquaporins have fundamental roles in normal human physiology and pathophysiology. Consequently, aquaporins are attractive targets for the development of novel drug therapies for disorders that involve aberrant water movement, such as edema and kidney disease.