title: Aquaporins: Their role in gastrointestinal malignancies.
abstract: Aquaporins (AQPs) are small (~30 kDa monomers) integral membrane water transport proteins that allow water to flow through cell membranes in reaction to osmotic gradients in cells. In mammals, the family of AQPs has thirteen (AQP0-12) unique members that mediate critical biological functions. Since AQPs can impact cell proliferation, migration and angiogenesis, their role in various human cancers is well established. Recently, AQPs have been explored as potential diagnostic and therapeutic targets in gastrointestinal (GI) cancers. GI cancers encompass multiple sites including the colon, esophagus, stomach and pancreas. Research in the last three decades has revealed biological aspects and signaling pathways critical for the development of GI cancers. Since the majority of these cancers are very aggressive and rapidly metastasizes, identifying effective targets is crucial for treatment. Preclinical studies have utilized inhibitors of specific AQPs and knock down of AQP expression using siRNA. Although several studies have explored the role of AQPs in colorectal, esophageal, gastric, hepatocellular and pancreatic cancers, there is no comprehensive review compiling the available information on GI cancers as has been published for other malignancies such as ovarian cancer. Due to the similarities and association of various sites of GI cancers, it is helpful to consider these results collectively in order to better understand the role of specific AQPs in critical GI cancers. This review summarizes the current knowledge of the role of AQPs in GI malignancies with particular focus on diagnosis and therapeutic applications.
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Winship Cancer Institute, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA; Department of Biotechnology, Berhampur University, Bhanjavihar, Odisha 760007, India.
authors.forename: Ganji Purnachandra
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Nagaraju
authors.affiliation: Institute for Cancer Research, Pre-Clinical Services, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, TX 76107, USA.
authors.forename: Riyaz
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Basha
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Winship Cancer Institute, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA; Department of Microbiology, Banasthali University, Banasthali, Rajasthan 304022, India.
authors.forename: Balney
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Rajitha
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Winship Cancer Institute, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA.
authors.forename: Olatunji Boladale
authors.initials: OB
authors.lastname: Alese
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Banasthali University, Banasthali, Rajasthan 304022, India.
authors.forename: Afroz
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Alam
authors.affiliation: Department of Biotechnology, Berhampur University, Bhanjavihar, Odisha 760007, India.
authors.forename: Subasini
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pattnaik
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Winship Cancer Institute, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA. Electronic address: belraye@emory.edu.
authors.forename: Bassel
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: El-Rayes
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D020346:Aquaporins / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D015195:Drug Design; D005770:Gastrointestinal Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D015972:Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic; D006801:Humans; D058990:Molecular Targeted Therapy; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011487:Protein Conformation; D015398:Signal Transduction; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D020346:Aquaporins; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor
keywords: Aquaporins; Biomarker; Gastrointestinal cancer