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Ozu M, Galizia L, Alvear-Arias JJ, Fernández M, Caviglia A, Zimmermann R, Guastaferri F, Espinoza-Muñoz N, Sutka M, Sigaut L, Pietrasanta LI, González C, Amodeo G, Garate JA. Mechanosensitive aquaporins. Biophys Rev 2023; 15:497-513. [PMID: 37681084 PMCID: PMC10480384 DOI: 10.1007/s12551-023-01098-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2023] [Accepted: 07/04/2023] [Indexed: 09/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Cellular systems must deal with mechanical forces to satisfy their physiological functions. In this context, proteins with mechanosensitive properties play a crucial role in sensing and responding to environmental changes. The discovery of aquaporins (AQPs) marked a significant breakthrough in the study of water transport. Their transport capacity and regulation features make them key players in cellular processes. To date, few AQPs have been reported to be mechanosensitive. Like mechanosensitive ion channels, AQPs respond to tension changes in the same range. However, unlike ion channels, the aquaporin's transport rate decreases as tension increases, and the molecular features of the mechanism are unknown. Nevertheless, some clues from mechanosensitive ion channels shed light on the AQP-membrane interaction. The GxxxG motif may play a critical role in the water permeation process associated with structural features in AQPs. Consequently, a possible gating mechanism triggered by membrane tension changes would involve a conformational change in the cytoplasmic extreme of the single file region of the water pathway, where glycine and histidine residues from loop B play a key role. In view of their transport capacity and their involvement in relevant processes related to mechanical forces, mechanosensitive AQPs are a fundamental piece of the puzzle for understanding cellular responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcelo Ozu
- Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Departamento de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Instituto de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental y Aplicada (IBBEA), Universidad de Buenos Aires y Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Luciano Galizia
- Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Departamento de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Instituto de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental y Aplicada (IBBEA), Universidad de Buenos Aires y Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Juan José Alvear-Arias
- Interdisciplinary Center of Neurosciences of Valparaiso, University of Valparaiso, CINV, 2360102 Valparaíso, Chile
- Millennium Nucleus in NanoBioPhysics, Santiago, Chile
| | - Miguel Fernández
- Interdisciplinary Center of Neurosciences of Valparaiso, University of Valparaiso, CINV, 2360102 Valparaíso, Chile
- Millennium Nucleus in NanoBioPhysics, Santiago, Chile
| | - Agustín Caviglia
- Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Departamento de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Instituto de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental y Aplicada (IBBEA), Universidad de Buenos Aires y Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Rosario Zimmermann
- Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Departamento de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Instituto de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental y Aplicada (IBBEA), Universidad de Buenos Aires y Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Florencia Guastaferri
- Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Departamento de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Instituto de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental y Aplicada (IBBEA), Universidad de Buenos Aires y Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Present Address: Instituto de Biología Molecular y Celular de Rosario (IBR-CONICET-UNR), Rosario, Argentina
| | - Nicolás Espinoza-Muñoz
- Interdisciplinary Center of Neurosciences of Valparaiso, University of Valparaiso, CINV, 2360102 Valparaíso, Chile
- Millennium Nucleus in NanoBioPhysics, Santiago, Chile
| | - Moira Sutka
- Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Departamento de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Instituto de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental y Aplicada (IBBEA), Universidad de Buenos Aires y Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Lorena Sigaut
- Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Departamento de Física, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Instituto de Física de Buenos Aires (IFIBA), Universidad de Buenos Aires y Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Lía Isabel Pietrasanta
- Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Departamento de Física, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Instituto de Física de Buenos Aires (IFIBA), Universidad de Buenos Aires y Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Carlos González
- Millennium Nucleus in NanoBioPhysics, Santiago, Chile
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, FL 33136 USA
- Present Address: Molecular Bioscience Department, University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712 USA
| | - Gabriela Amodeo
- Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Departamento de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Instituto de Biodiversidad y Biología Experimental y Aplicada (IBBEA), Universidad de Buenos Aires y Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - José Antonio Garate
- Interdisciplinary Center of Neurosciences of Valparaiso, University of Valparaiso, CINV, 2360102 Valparaíso, Chile
- Millennium Nucleus in NanoBioPhysics, Santiago, Chile
- Facultad de Ingeniería, Arquitectura y Diseño, Universidad San Sebastián, Bellavista, Santiago, Chile
- Centro Científico y Tecnológico de Excelencia Ciencia y Vida, Universidad San Sebastián, 7750000 Santiago, Chile
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Aquaporins Display a Diversity in their Substrates. J Membr Biol 2023; 256:1-23. [PMID: 35986775 DOI: 10.1007/s00232-022-00257-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2021] [Accepted: 07/13/2022] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Aquaporins constitute a family of transmembrane proteins that function to transport water and other small solutes across the cell membrane. Aquaporins family members are found in diverse life forms. Aquaporins share the common structural fold consisting of six transmembrane alpha helices with a central water-transporting channel. Four such monomers assemble together to form tetramers as their biological unit. Initially, aquaporins were discovered as water-transporting channels, but several studies supported their involvement in mediating the facilitated diffusion of different solutes. The so-called water channel is able to transport a variety of substrates ranging from a neutral molecule to a charged molecule or a small molecule to a bulky molecule or even a gas molecule. This article gives an overview of a diverse range of substrates conducted by aquaporin family members. Prime focus is on human aquaporins where aquaporins show a wide tissue distribution and substrate specificity leading to various physiological functions. This review also highlights the structural mechanisms leading to the transport of water and glycerol. More research is needed to understand how one common fold enables the aquaporins to transport an array of solutes.
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Gössweiner-Mohr N, Siligan C, Pluhackova K, Umlandt L, Koefler S, Trajkovska N, Horner A. The Hidden Intricacies of Aquaporins: Remarkable Details in a Common Structural Scaffold. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2022; 18:e2202056. [PMID: 35802902 DOI: 10.1002/smll.202202056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2022] [Revised: 06/09/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Evolution turned aquaporins (AQPs) into the most efficient facilitators of passive water flow through cell membranes at no expense of solute discrimination. In spite of a plethora of solved AQP structures, many structural details remain hidden. Here, by combining extensive sequence- and structural-based analysis of a unique set of 20 non-redundant high-resolution structures and molecular dynamics simulations of four representatives, key aspects of AQP stability, gating, selectivity, pore geometry, and oligomerization, with a potential impact on channel functionality, are identified. The general view of AQPs possessing a continuous open water pore is challenged and it is depicted that AQPs' selectivity is not exclusively shaped by pore-lining residues but also by the relative arrangement of transmembrane helices. Moreover, this analysis reveals that hydrophobic interactions constitute the main determinant of protein thermal stability. Finally, a numbering scheme of the conserved AQP scaffold is established, facilitating direct comparison of, for example, disease-causing mutations and prediction of potential structural consequences. Additionally, the results pave the way for the design of optimized AQP water channels to be utilized in biotechnological applications.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Christine Siligan
- Institute of Biophysics, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Gruberstr. 40, Linz, 4020, Austria
| | - Kristyna Pluhackova
- Stuttgart Center for Simulation Science, University of Stuttgart, Cluster of Excellence EXC 2075, Universitätsstr. 32, 70569, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Linnea Umlandt
- Institute of Biophysics, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Gruberstr. 40, Linz, 4020, Austria
| | - Sabina Koefler
- Institute of Biophysics, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Gruberstr. 40, Linz, 4020, Austria
| | - Natasha Trajkovska
- Institute of Biophysics, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Gruberstr. 40, Linz, 4020, Austria
| | - Andreas Horner
- Institute of Biophysics, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Gruberstr. 40, Linz, 4020, Austria
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