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Obesity

Aquaporin enters the picture

Nature volume 438, pages 436–437 (2005)Cite this article

The aquaporins are membrane channels that were originally identified as regulators of a cell's water balance. A member of the aquaporin family is now implicated as a central agent in controlling fat metabolism.

Mammals, like other organisms, have had to cope with feast and famine over evolutionary time. Hence the selection of genes that in times of plenty allow fat accumulation — principally in the form of triglycerides in fat cells — and in times of need promote the mobilization of those reserves. But the complex pathways involved in controlling this energy balance, which are implicated in the development of obesity and diabetes, are far from fully understood.

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Figure 1: Consequences of aquaporin-7 deficiency1,2,3.

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  1. the Department of Endocrinology, Clínica Universitaria, Universidad de Navarra, Pamplona, 31008, Spain

    Gema Frühbeck

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  1. Gema Frühbeck
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Frühbeck, G. Aquaporin enters the picture. Nature 438, 436–437 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/438436b

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