Abstract
Water is the most abundant molecule in human cells and biological systems, and aquaporin (AQP) proteins have an important role in facilitating transepithelial transport of water. Aquaporin 3 (AQP3) is an aquaglyceroporin that is permeable to water and small solutes, and is expressed in intestinal epithelial cells. Inflammatory bowel diseases are associated with barrier dysfunction and altered absorption and secretion. Given that AQPs are involved in these processes, and are decreased in IBD, we sought to better understand the importance of AQP3 in epithelial cells of the gastrointestinal tract. Our studies show that in the absence of AQP3, HT29 adenocarcinoma cells exhibit impaired growth which is due to decreased proliferation caused by an arrest in G2/M phase of the cell cycle, and not increased rates of cell death. These results improve the understanding of the functional role and importance of AQP3 in intestinal epithelial cell homeostasis.
