Aquaporin-6 is expressed along the rat gastrointestinal tract and upregulated by feeding in the small intestine

摘要

BackgroundSeveral aquaporins (a family of integral membrane proteins) have been recently identified in the mammalian gastrointestinal tract, and their involvement in the movement of fluid and small solutes has been suggested. In this direction we investigated, in some regions of the rat gastrointestinal tract, the presence and localization of aquaporin-6, given its peculiar function as an ion selective channel.