Aquaporins in Fetal Development

MARTINEZ, NORA; DAMIANO, ALICIA E.

Aquaporins

Springer

Año: 2023; p. 251 - 266

Water homeostasis is critical for fetal growth and it depends on the successful formation of the placenta. Several aquaporins (AQPs) were detected from blastocyst stages to term placenta and fetal membranes. In the last years, cytokines, hormones, second messengers, intracellular pH, and membrane proteins were found to regulate their expression and function in the human placenta and fetal membranes. Accumulated data suggest that these proteins may be involved not only in the maintenance of the amniotic fluid volume homeostasis but also in the development of the placenta and fetal organs. In this sense, dysregulation of placental AQPs is associated with gestational disorders. Thus, current evidence indicates that AQPs may collaborate in cellular processes such as trophoblast migration and apoptosis. In addition, aquaglyceroporins are involved in energy metabolism as well as urea elimination across the placenta. In the last year, the presence of AQP9 in trophoblast mitochondria open new hypotheses of its role in pregnancy.However, much further work is needed to understand the importance of these proteins in human pregnancies.