Membrane Water Channels and SH-Groups

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Abstract
The transport of water across human red cell membranes is commonly interpreted in terms of small aqueous channels. This interpretation is based largely on indirect evidence. In this report, two sets of experiments providing more direct evidence for this idea is presented. (1) The effect of various SH-reactive reagents on the movement of water was studied. Using these compounds we attempted to localize and characterize those membrane SH-groups which are important for water transport. (2) Experimental evidence which suggests that these channels are assembled from aggregates of specific membrane protein(s) is presented.