Aquaporins in Colorectal Cancer: Exploring Their Role in Tumorigenesis, Metastasis, and Drug Response - Abstract
Aquaporins (AQPs) are small, integral proteins facilitating water transport across plasma cell membranes in reaction to osmotic gradients. This family has thirteen unique members (AQP0-12), which can also transport glycerol, urea, gases, and other salute small molecules. AQPs play a crucial role in the regulation of different cellular processes, including metabolism, migration, immunity, barrier function and angiogenesis. These proteins are found to aberrantly overexpress in various cancers, including colorectal cancer (CRC). Increasing evidence has been explored AQPs as a potential diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets in different cancers. However, there is no comprehensive review compiling the available information on the crucial role of AQPs in the context of colorectal cancer. This review highlights the significance of AQPs as the biomarker and regulator of tumor cells metabolism. In addition, the proliferation, angiogenesis, and metastasis of tumor cells related to AQPs expression and function are discussed. Furthermore, understanding the AQPs prominent role in chemotherapy resistance is of great importance as a clinical point of view.