Although very often exposed to a rapid changing environment, plants are in general unable to evade from unfavourable conditions. Therefore, a fine tuned adaptation of physiology including the water balance appears to be of crucial importance. As a consequence a relatively large number of aquaporin genes are present in plant genomes. So far aquaporins in plants were shown to be involved in root ...

INTRODUCTION Gene expression profiling was performed via DNA microarrays in leukocytes from critically ill trauma patients nonseptic upon admission to the ICU, who subsequently developed either sepsis (n = 2) or severe sepsis and acute respiratory distress syndrome (n = 3). By comparing our results with published expression profiling studies in animal models of sepsis and lung injury, we found ...

Neuromyelitis optica (NMO) is an inflammatory demyelinating disease of the CNS and affects women of childbearing age. Most patients with NMO have circulating Abs, termed NMO-IgG, against the astrocytic water channel protein aquaporin-4. In the CNS, NMO-IgG causes complement-mediated astrocyte damage, inflammatory cell infiltration, and myelin loss. In this study, we show that aquaporin-4 is exp...

The sense of smell is conveyed by the olfactory sensory neurons of the olfactory mucosa. Uniquely for sensory systems, the olfactory neurons directly face the external environment and are thus vulnerable to infections and changes in the airway surface liquid, but the surface liquid production and maintenance is not well understood. Here we show in rats and mice that Bowman's glands secrete the ...

IMPORTANCE Patients with neuromyelitis optica who have aquaporin-4 antibodies are being identified and receiving immunosuppressant treatment earlier and more aggressively as a result of increasing awareness of the importance of preventing relapses responsible for the high morbidity and mortality associated with the disease. To our knowledge, opportunistic retinal infection in patients with aqua...

We characterize the expression pattern of aquaporin-6 in the mouse inner ear by RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry. Our data show that in the inner ear aquaporin-6 is expressed, in both vestibular and acoustic sensory epithelia, by the supporting cells directly contacting hair cells. In particular, in the Organ of Corti, expression was strongest in Deiters' cells, which provide both a mechanical l...

Non-invasive imaging of gene expression in live, optically opaque animals is important for multiple applications, including monitoring of genetic circuits and tracking of cell-based therapeutics. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) could enable such monitoring with high spatiotemporal resolution. However, existing MRI reporter genes based on metalloproteins or chemical exchange probes are limited ...