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Expression and localization of aquaporin-1 on the apical membrane of enterocytes in the small intestine of bottlenose dolphins

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Abstract

The small and large intestines are primary sites for water intake in mammals. To reveal how water is absorbed in the intestines of cetaceans, histological and molecular-biological studies were performed on the small intestine of the bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops truncatus. In histological studies using fresh specimens, obvious villi and deep crypts of Lieberkühn, lined by abundant enterocytes with microvilli and goblet cells, were observed in the mucosa. Expressions and immunolocalizations of aquaporin-1 (AQP1), a member of the water-selective channel termed AQP, were also investigated in the intestine. By reverse transcriptional polymerase chain reaction and rapid amplification of cDNA ends using RNA extracted from the dolphins’ small intestines, the full length of mRNA for AQP1 was sequenced. The deductive amino acid sequence for an open reading frame showed high homologies with other mammals’ AQP1, and water permeability of the protein was certified by cRNA injection to Xenopus oocytes. Immunohistochemistry showed AQP1 distribution on the apical membrane of the enterocytes, especially in the crypts. These data suggest that AQP1 is a channel protein responsible for water absorption in the small intestine of dolphins.

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Acknowledgments

I want to show my appreciation to the Taiji Fisheries Cooperative Union, Wakayama, Japan, Dr. T. Iwasaki and Mr. T. Hara of the Fisheries Research Agency, Kanagawa, Japan, Dr. T. Mori, Associated Professor of Nihon University, Kanagawa, Japan, for their cooperation in this study. I sincerely wish to thank Dr. A. Shimizu of the National Research Institute of Fisheries Science, the Fisheries Research Agency, Kanagawa, Japan, Dr. S. Watanabe of The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan, and Dr. T. Moritomo, Associate Professor of Nihon University, Kanagawa, Japan, for their helpful and useful advices on experiments. This work was supported by the Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (#18880027 and #20780143), and Nihon University Individual Research Grant (2007).

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  1. Department of Marine Science and Resources, College of Bioresource Sciences, Nihon University, Fujisawa, Kanagawa, 252-8510, Japan

    Miwa Suzuki

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  1. Miwa Suzuki
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Correspondence to Miwa Suzuki.

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Communicated by H. V. Carey.

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Suzuki, M. Expression and localization of aquaporin-1 on the apical membrane of enterocytes in the small intestine of bottlenose dolphins. J Comp Physiol B 180, 229–238 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00360-009-0397-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00360-009-0397-6

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