Aquaporin Efficiency and Selectivity
© MPI-NAT Bert de Groot
Why are aquaporins strictly selective for water, whereas the closely related aquaglyceroporins also permeate glycerol and other small solutes? Molecular dynamics simulations revealed a remarkable correlation between hydrophobicity and permeability for aquaporins, with only water and ammonia showing efficient permeation. The constriction filter of aquaglyceroporins lacks this feature, facilitating also the permeation of glycerol and even apolar gases.
Publications
Mechanism of selectivity in aquaporins and aquaglyceroporins. Proceedings of the National Acadamy of Sciences of the United States of America 105 (4), pp. 1198 - 1203 (2008)
Does CO2 permeate through Aquaporin-1? Biophysical Journal 91 (3), pp. 842 - 848 (2006)
Structure and function of water channels. Current Opinion in Structural Biology 12 (4), pp. 509 - 515 (2002)