The role of aquaporin 4 in brain tumors: implications for pathophysiology, diagnosis and therapy

Mohammad Behnam; Alireza Motamedzadeh; Marzieh Aalinezhad; Ehsan Dadgostar; Fatemeh Zahra Rashidi Noshabad; Mohammad Pourfridoni; Maedeh Raei; Hamed Mirzaei; Michael Aschner; Omid Reza Tamtaji

doi:10.1007/s11033-022-07656-y

The role of aquaporin 4 in brain tumors: implications for pathophysiology, diagnosis and therapy

Mol Biol Rep. 2022 Nov;49(11):10609-10615. doi: 10.1007/s11033-022-07656-y. Epub 2022 Jun 17.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Student Research Committee, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, I.R. of Iran.
² Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, I.R. of Iran.
³ Department of Radiology, School of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, I.R. of Iran.
⁴ Behavioral Sciences Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, I.R. of Iran.
⁵ Student Research Committee, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, I.R. of Iran.
⁶ Student Research Committee, Jiroft University of Medical Sciences, Jiroft, I.R. of Iran.
⁷ Faculty of Medicine, Sari Branch, Islamic Azad University, Sari, I.R. of Iran.
⁸ Research Center for Biochemistry and Nutrition in Metabolic Diseases, Institute for Basic Sciences, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, I.R. of Iran. h.mirzaei2002@gmail.com.
⁹ Department of Molecular Pharmacology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 10461, Bronx, NY, USA.
¹⁰ Electrophysiology Research Center, Neuroscience Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, I.R. of Iran. tamtaji.or@gmail.com.
¹¹ Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, I.R. of Iran. tamtaji.or@gmail.com.

PMID: 35715607
DOI: 10.1007/s11033-022-07656-y

Abstract

Primary brain tumors are a heterogeneous group of tumors that arise from cells intrinsic to the central nervous system (CNS). Aquaporin-4 (AQP4) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of brain tumors. Previous reports have documented a relationship between AQP4 and several molecular pathways associated with the etiology of brain tumors, such as apoptosis, invasion and cell migration. AQP4 affects apoptosis via cytochrome C, Bad and Bcl-2, as well as invasion and migration via IDO1/TDO-Kyn-AhR axis, lncRNA LINC00461, miR-216a, miRNA-320a and MMPs. In addition, inhibition of AQP4 mitigates the progression of brain tumors. This review summarizes current knowledge and evidence regarding the relationship between AQP4 and brain tumors, and the mechanisms involved.

Keywords: Aquaporin 4; Astrocytoma; Glioblastoma; Glioma; Meningioma.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Aquaporin 4* / genetics
Aquaporin 4* / metabolism
Brain Neoplasms* / diagnosis
Brain Neoplasms* / genetics
Brain Neoplasms* / therapy
Cell Line, Tumor
Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic
Glioma* / genetics
Humans

Substances

Aquaporin 4
AQP4 protein, human