akvaporiner

Akvaporiner is the plural form used in some Scandinavian languages to refer to aquaporins, a family of membrane proteins that form pores in cell membranes to facilitate rapid movement of water. In English-language literature the term aquaporins (AQP) is standard, but akvaporiner appears in Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish texts as the plural of akvaporin.

Structure and function

Aquaporins are integral membrane proteins that assemble as tetramers in the lipid bilayer, with each monomer creating its own water-permeable pore. They possess conserved sequence motifs, including two NPA (asparagine–proline–alanine) regions, and an aromatic/arginine constriction that provides selectivity for water over ions. Most aquaporins primarily transport water, but some family members—known as aquaglyceroporins—also permit glycerol and other small solutes to pass.

Distribution and roles

In animals, aquaporins are encoded by multiple genes (AQP1–AQP12 in humans) and show tissue-specific expression, including kidney tubules (water reabsorption), brain and spinal cord, lens of the eye, salivary glands, and skin. In plants, aquaporins fall into several subfamilies (PIPs, TIPs, NIPs, SIPs) and play key roles in hydraulic conductivity, drought response, and nutrient transport. The broad distribution underlines their fundamental role in maintaining water homeostasis across organisms.

Discovery and significance

The aquaporin family was identified in the early 1990s by researchers led by Peter Agre, who demonstrated a functional water channel in cell membranes. The discovery, which highlighted a dedicated mechanism for rapid water movement, earned recognition in the scientific community and catalyzed extensive research into physiology, medicine, and agriculture. The term akvaporiner remains a language-specific variant of aquaporins used in Scandinavian contexts.