Aquaporins; systemic, functional and therapeutic correlations in health and disease.

Aquaporins are transcellular proteins that majorly consist of a tetrametric hour-glass-like structure. Aquaporins have a definitive function in transpositioning of water and solutes across cell membranes. The current review was planned to provide information regarding structure, expression and functions of aquaporins in the human body, and to generate a comprehensive summary of physiological and pathophysiological correlations related to aquaporins and their therapeutic implications. Absence or mutations of different aquaporins are believed to be linked to clinical diseases, including Sjogren's syndrome, nephrogenic diabetes insipidus, liver dysfunction and obesity. Modern therapeutic techniques are utilising aquaporins in gene therapy for Sjogren's syndrome and cholestasis. The narrative review aims at providing a comprehensive description of localisation, function, abnormal clinical conditions and therapeutic implications of aquaporin proteins.