An aquaporin-4/transient receptor potential vanilloid 4 (AQP4/TRPV4) complex is essential for cell-volume control in astrocytes.

ABSTRACT: Regulatory volume decrease (RVD) is a key mechanism for volume control that serves to prevent detrimental swelling in response to hypo-osmotic stress. The molecular basis of RVD is not understood. Here we show that a complex containing aquaporin-4 (AQP4) and transient receptor potential vanilloid 4 (TRPV4) is essential for RVD in astrocytes. Astrocytes from AQP4-KO mice and astrocytes treated with TRPV4 siRNA fail to respond to hypotonic stress by increased intracellular Ca(2+) and RVD. Coimmunoprecipitation and immunohistochemistry analyses show that AQP4 and TRPV4 interact and colocalize. Functional analysis of an astrocyte-derived cell line expressing TRPV4 but not AQP4 shows that RVD and intracellular Ca(2+) response can be reconstituted by transfection with AQP4 but not with aquaporin

SUBMITTER: Benfenati V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3038710 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature