Verification of the gene and protein expression of the aquaglyceroporin AQP3 in the mammalian lens.

Transport of water is critical for maintaining the transparency of the avascular lens, and the lens is known to express at least five distinctly different water channels from the Aquaporin (AQP) family of proteins. In this study we report on the identification of a sixth lens AQP, AQP3 an aquaglyceroporin, which in addition to water also transports glycerol and HO. AQP3 was identified at the transcript level and protein levels using RT-PCR and Western blotting, respectively, in the mouse, rat, bovine and human lens, showing that its expression is conserved in the mammalian lens.