背景
This gene encodes the water channel protein aquaporin 3. Aquaporins are a family of small
integral membrane proteins related to the major intrinsic protein, also known as aquaporin
0. Aquaporin 3 is localized at the basal lateral membranes of collecting duct cells in the
kidney. In addition to its water channel function, aquaporin 3 has been found to facilitate the
transport of nonionic small solutes such as urea and glycerol, but to a smaller degree. It has
been suggested that water channels can be functionally heterogeneous and possess water
and solute permeation mechanisms. Alternative splicing of this gene results in multiple
transcript variants encoding different isoforms.
