[New players in the physiopathology of water metabolism: the aquaporins].

Aquaporins are transmembrane proteins mediating water transport across plasma membrane of animal, vegetal or bacterial cells. Among the ten aquaporins known in mammals, six are located in kidney and take part in urine concentration. AQP2 is vasopressin regulated, it is the only family member to be implicated in human pathology, such as nephrogenic diabetes insipidus, congestive heart failure, hepatic cirrhosis, nephrotic syndrome or SIADH. Aquaporins are expressed in a wide variety of tissues, such as brain or gastrointestinal tractus, and suggest a role in water tissue exchange, but their real function is still not define. To know the physiological impact of aquaporins, AQP1, AQP3, AQP4 and AQP5 knockout mice have been created and their phenotype analysed.