Is there a molecular basis for solvent drag in the renal proximal tubule?

The concept of solvent drag, i.e., water and solutes sharing the same pore and their transport being frictionally coupled, was first proposed in the early 1950s. During the following decades, it was applied to transport processes across cell membranes as well as transport along the paracellular pathway. Water-driven solute transport was proposed as the major mechanism for electrolyte and nutrient absorption in the small intestine and for Cl- and HCO3- reabsorption in the renal proximal tubule. With the discovery of aquaporins as transcellular route for water transport and the claudin protein family as the major determinant of paracellular transport properties, new mechanistic insights in transepithelial water and solute transport are emerging and call for a reassessment of the solvent drag concept. Current knowledge does not provide a molecular basis for relevant solvent drag-driven, paracellular nutrient, and inorganic anion (re-)absorption. For inorganic cation transport, in contrast, solvent drag along claudin-2-formed paracellular channels appears feasible.