The Role and Expression of AQP-4 in Several Common Types of Brain Edema

Brain water content increasing, can lead to brain volume and intracranial pressure increased. Pathogenesis mechanism of cerebral edema are intricately, and cerebral edema is one of the major pathophysiological changes in various kinds of brain diseases, such as cerebral venous thrombosis, cerebral ischemia, cerebral hemorrhage and brain tissue trauma, seriously affecting the prognosis of the disease, and it is the main reason of brain disease of disability and death. Aquaporin is a highly selective water permeability membrane channel proteins, including more than 200 members of the family, the protein molecular structure with a narrow hydrophilic pore, through which channel the water molecules from the high potential side spread rapidly to the low potential side, while other materials can not pass through. AQP-4 is the most abundant brain aquaporins. and recent studies show that it involved in the formation of brain edema in a variety of brain diseases. This paper reviewed the role and expression of AQP-4 in several common types of brain edema.