Molecular Mechanisms of Mercury-Sensitive Aquaporins

Aquaporins are transmembrane channels that allow for the passive permeation of water and other small molecules across biological membranes. Their channel activities are sensitive to mercury ions. Intriguingly, while most aquaporins are inhibited by mercury ions, several aquaporins are activated by mercury ions. The molecular basis of the opposing aquaporin regulation by mercury remains poorly understood. Herein, we investigated AqpZ inhibition and AQP6 activation upon binding of mercury ions using solid-state NMR (ssNMR) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Based on the structure of the Hg-AqpZ complex constructed by MD simulations and ssNMR, we identified that the pore closure was caused by mercury-induced conformational changes of the key residue R189 in the selectivity filter region, while pore opening was caused by conformational changes of residues H181 and R196 in the selectivity filter region in AQP6. Both conformational changes were caused by the disruption of the H-bond network of R189/R196 by mercury. The molecular details provided a structural basis for mercury-mediated functional changes in aquaporins.