DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0902725106. Crystal structure of human aquaporin 4 at 1.8 Å and its mechanism of conductance

Crystal structure of human aquaporin 4 at 1.8 Å and its mechanism of conductance

10.1073/pnas.0902725106

Crossref journal-article

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (341)

Abstract

Aquaporin (AQP) 4 is the predominant water channel in the mammalian brain, abundantly expressed in the blood–brain and brain–cerebrospinal fluid interfaces of glial cells. Its function in cerebral water balance has implications in neuropathological disorders, including brain edema, stroke, and head injuries. The 1.8-Å crystal structure reveals the molecular basis for the water selectivity of the channel. Unlike the case in the structures of water-selective AQPs AqpZ and AQP1, the asparagines of the 2 Asn-Pro-Ala motifs do not hydrogen bond to the same water molecule; instead, they bond to 2 different water molecules in the center of the channel. Molecular dynamics simulations were performed to ask how this observation bears on the proposed mechanisms for how AQPs remain totally insulating to any proton conductance while maintaining a single file of hydrogen bonded water molecules throughout the channel.

Bibliography

Ho, J. D., Yeh, R., Sandstrom, A., Chorny, I., Harries, W. E. C., Robbins, R. A., Miercke, L. J. W., & Stroud, R. M. (2009). Crystal structure of human aquaporin 4 at 1.8 â« and its mechanism of conductance. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 106(18), 7437â7442.

Authors 8

Joseph D. Ho (first)
Ronald Yeh (additional)
Andrew Sandstrom (additional)
Ilya Chorny (additional)
William E. C. Harries (additional)
Rebecca A. Robbins (additional)
Larry J. W. Miercke (additional)
Robert M. Stroud (additional)

References 51 Referenced 291

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Dates

Type	When
Created	16 years, 4 months ago (April 21, 2009, 10:34 p.m.)
Deposited	3 years, 4 months ago (April 12, 2022, 5:17 p.m.)
Indexed	2 days, 5 hours ago (Aug. 23, 2025, 1:04 a.m.)
Issued	16 years, 3 months ago (May 5, 2009)
Published	16 years, 3 months ago (May 5, 2009)
Published Online	16 years, 3 months ago (May 5, 2009)
Published Print	16 years, 3 months ago (May 5, 2009)

Funders 0

None

BibTeX

@article{Ho_2009, title={Crystal structure of human aquaporin 4 at 1.8 Å and its mechanism of conductance}, volume={106}, ISSN={1091-6490}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0902725106}, DOI={10.1073/pnas.0902725106}, number={18}, journal={Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences}, publisher={Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences}, author={Ho, Joseph D. and Yeh, Ronald and Sandstrom, Andrew and Chorny, Ilya and Harries, William E. C. and Robbins, Rebecca A. and Miercke, Larry J. W. and Stroud, Robert M.}, year={2009}, month=may, pages={7437–7442} }

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