Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 25, 2026
08:39
Tracking Single Proteins in Lipid Bilayers Using Fluorescence Microscopy
Published on: December 12, 2025
Aquaporin-2 in the "-omics" era
Jason D Hoffert1, Chung-Lin Chou, Mark A Knepper
1Laboratory of Kidney and Electrolyte Metabolism, NHLBI, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892-1603, USA.
The Journal of Biological Chemistry
|February 6, 2009
Summary
Vasopressin regulates kidney water balance by controlling aquaporin-2 water channels. Recent advances in systems-level profiling have significantly improved our understanding of these complex mechanisms.
Area of Science:
- Nephrology
- Molecular Biology
- Physiology
Background:
- Vasopressin is a key hormone regulating water reabsorption in the kidneys.
- Aquaporin-2 (AQP2) is the primary water channel in the renal collecting duct principal cells, mediating vasopressin's effect.
- Understanding the molecular mechanisms of vasopressin action on AQP2 is crucial for managing water balance disorders.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review recent progress in understanding the mechanisms of vasopressin's control over renal water excretion.
- To highlight the impact of systems-level profiling techniques on this field.
Main Methods:
- Review of recent scientific literature.
- Focus on advancements in large-scale systems-level profiling techniques.
- Includes protein mass spectrometry, yeast two-hybrid analysis, and oligonucleotide microarrays.
Main Results:
- Recent years have seen significant advancements in understanding vasopressin-AQP2 interactions.
- Systems-level profiling methods have provided unprecedented insights into the molecular networks involved.
- The review synthesizes progress from various high-throughput techniques.
Conclusions:
- Knowledge of vasopressin's regulation of renal water excretion has markedly increased.
- Advanced profiling techniques are instrumental in elucidating complex biological mechanisms.
- This review consolidates recent findings and points towards future research directions.
Related Concept Videos
01:25Aquaporins
Aquaporins or AQPs are a family of integral membrane proteins whose primary function is to transport water, while some called aquaglyceroporins also transport glycerol. In addition, aquaporins have also been suspected to be involved in transporting volatile substances, such as carbon dioxide and ammonia, across membranes. Such AQPs that act as gas channels are often highly expressed in cells involved in the gaseous exchange, such as red blood cells, epithelial cells, and pulmonary capillaries.
02:32Osmoregulation in Fishes
When cells are placed in a hypotonic (low-salt) fluid, they can swell and burst. Meanwhile, cells in a hypertonic solution—with a higher salt concentration—can shrivel and die. How do fish cells avoid these gruesome fates in hypotonic freshwater or hypertonic seawater environments?
01:33Proteomics
A proteome is the entire set of proteins that a cell type produces. We can study proteomes using the knowledge of genomes because genes code for mRNAs, and the mRNAs encode proteins. Although mRNA analysis is a step in the right direction, not all mRNAs are translated into proteins.
Proteomics is the study of proteomes' function. It involves the large-scale systematic study of the proteome to denote the protein complement expressed by a genome. Scientist Mark Wilkins coined the term proteomics...
Proteomics is the study of proteomes' function. It involves the large-scale systematic study of the proteome to denote the protein complement expressed by a genome. Scientist Mark Wilkins coined the term proteomics...
01:30Osmosis
Osmosis is the movement of free water molecules through a semipermeable membrane. The water's concentration gradient across the membrane is inversely proportional to the solutes' concentration. Whereas diffusion transports material across membranes and within cells, osmosis transports only water across a membrane, and the membrane limits the diffusion of solutes in the water. Osmosis is a special case of diffusion.
Water, like other substances, moves from a high concentration of free water...
Water, like other substances, moves from a high concentration of free water...
02:02Genomics
Genomics is the science of genomes: it is the study of all the genetic material of an organism. In humans, the genome consists of information carried in 23 pairs of chromosomes in the nucleus, as well as mitochondrial DNA. In genomics, both coding and non-coding DNA is sequenced and analyzed. Genomics allows a better understanding of all living things, their evolution, and their diversity. It has a myriad of uses: for example, to build phylogenetic trees, to improve productivity and...
01:47Osmoregulation in Insects
Malpighian tubules are specialized structures found in the digestive systems of many arthropods, including most insects, that handle excretion and osmoregulation. The tubules are typically arranged in pairs and have a convoluted structure that increases their surface area.