Aquaporin 1 is located on the intestinal basolateral membrane in Toxocara canis and might play a role in drug uptake.

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Aquaporins (AQPs) are a family of integral membrane channel proteins that facilitate the transport of water and other small solutes across cell membranes. AQPs appear to play crucial roles in parasite survival and represent possible drug targets for novel intervention strategy. In this work, we investigated the tissue distribution and biological roles of an aquaporin TcAQP1 in the neglected parasitic nematode Toxocara canis. METHODS: Recombinant C-terminal hydrophilic domain of AQP1 of T. canis (rTcAQP1c) and polyclonal antibody against rTcAQP1c were produced to analyse the tissue expression of native TcAQP1 in adult (female and male) worms using an immunohistochemical approach. ..