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

• Published in: Molecular biology reports Vol. 49; no. 11; pp. 10609 - 10615
• Main Authors: Behnam, Mohammad, Motamedzadeh, Alireza, Aalinezhad, Marzieh, Dadgostar, Ehsan, Rashidi Noshabad, Fatemeh Zahra, Pourfridoni, Mohammad, Raei, Maedeh, Mirzaei, Hamed, Aschner, Michael, Tamtaji, Omid Reza
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01.11.2022; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Alzheimer's disease; Animal Anatomy; Animal Biochemistry; Apoptosis; Aquaporin 4; Aquaporins; Bcl-2 protein; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Brain cancer; Brain research; Brain tumors; Cell adhesion & migration; Cell migration; Central nervous system; Cytochrome c; Edema; Etiology; Glioma; Histology; Kurtosis; Life Sciences; Medical prognosis; Medicine; Metabolism; Metastasis; miRNA; Molecular biology; Morphology; Nervous system; Pathophysiology; Proteins; Research centers; Review; Signal transduction; Students; Tumors; Aquaporin 4; Glioma; Astrocytoma; Meningioma; Glioblastoma
• ISSN: 0301-4851; 1573-4978
• DOI: 10.1007/s11033-022-07656-y

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.