Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38734677›Full record

ArticleNature communications2024

Structural insights into drug transport by an aquaglyceroporin.

Wanbiao Chen, Rongfeng Zou, Yi Mei, Jiawei Li, Yumi Xuan, Bing Cui, Junjie Zou, Juncheng Wang, Shaoquan Lin, Zhe Zhang and 1 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Review
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Unraveling atomic complexity from frozen samples.Structural dynamics (Melville, N.Y.) · 2025
    Article
  8. Evaluation of Au(III) complexes as Plasmodium falciparum aquaglyceroporin (PfAQP) inhibitors by in silico and in vitro methods.Journal of biological inorganic chemistry : JBIC : a publication of the Society of Biological Inorganic Chemistry · 2024
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Wanbiao Chen *Center for Human Tissues and Organs Degeneration, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, 581055, China.
Rongfeng Zou *Shenzhen Jingtai Technology Co., Ltd. (XtalPi), Shenzhen, 518000, China.
Yi Mei *Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory of Anesthesiology, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province, 221004, China.
Jiawei LiCenter for Human Tissues and Organs Degeneration, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, 581055, China.
Yumi XuanCenter for Human Tissues and Organs Degeneration, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, 581055, China.
Bing CuiCenter for Human Tissues and Organs Degeneration, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, 581055, China.
Junjie ZouShenzhen Jingtai Technology Co., Ltd. (XtalPi), Shenzhen, 518000, China.
Juncheng WangAdvanced Medical Research Institute, Shandong University, Jinan, China.
Shaoquan LinCentre for Polymers in Medicine, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Science, Shenzhen, 581055, China.
Zhe ZhangJiangsu Province Key Laboratory of Anesthesiology, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province, 221004, China. zhangzhe70@xzhmu.edu.cn.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8036-698X
Chongyuan WangCenter for Human Tissues and Organs Degeneration, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen, 581055, China. cy.wang@siat.ac.cn.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7477-5376

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China (National Science Foundation of China) 32370046National Natural Science Foundation of China (National Science Foundation of China) 81671090
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Pentamidine and melarsoprol are primary drugs used to treat the lethal human sleeping sickness caused by the parasite Trypanosoma brucei. Cross-resistance to these two drugs has recently been linked to aquaglyceroporin 2 of the trypanosome (TbAQP2). TbAQP2 is the first member of the aquaporin family described as capable of drug transport; however, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Here, we present cryo-electron microscopy structures of TbAQP2 bound to pentamidine or melarsoprol. Our structural studies, together with the molecular dynamic simulations, reveal the mechanisms shaping substrate specificity and drug permeation. Multiple amino acids in TbAQP2, near the extracellular entrance and inside the pore, create an expanded conducting tunnel, sterically and energetically allowing the permeation of pentamidine and melarsoprol. Our study elucidates the mechanism of drug transport by TbAQP2, providing valuable insights to inform the design of drugs against trypanosomiasis.

Indexed as

AquaglyceroporinsCryoelectron MicroscopyMelarsoprolMolecular Dynamics SimulationPentamidineTrypanosoma brucei bruceiBiological TransportHumansProtozoan ProteinsTrypanocidal AgentsAquaglyceroporinsMelarsoprolPentamidineProtozoan ProteinsTrypanocidal Agents

Identifiers

PMID38734677
PMCPMC11088622

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.