Peter Agre

Peter Agre is an American physician and molecular biologist who shared the 2003 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for discovering aquaporins, membrane proteins that transport water.

Aquaporin: A membrane channel protein that allows water to cross cell membranes rapidly and selectively. Agre identified this protein family while investigating a red blood cell membrane protein.
Rh blood group system: A system of red blood cell antigens, including the RhD antigen, that can trigger immune reactions. Agre’s laboratory studied Rh-associated membrane proteins before identifying aquaporin-1.
Roderick MacKinnon: An American structural biologist who shared the 2003 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for work on ion channels. MacKinnon shared Agre’s Nobel Prize for complementary discoveries about channels in cell membranes.
Nephrogenic diabetes insipidus: A disorder in which the kidneys fail to concentrate urine in response to vasopressin. Defects in aquaporin-2 can prevent kidney collecting ducts from reabsorbing water.
Water permeability of biological membranes: The rate at which water crosses a biological membrane, through its lipid bilayer or transport proteins. Aquaporin discovery explained the unusually high water permeability of many cell membranes.
Integral membrane protein: A protein embedded in a biological membrane, often spanning its lipid bilayer. Aquaporins belong to this class of membrane-spanning proteins.
Aquaporin-1: The first identified aquaporin, a membrane channel that transports water across cell membranes. Agre identified it as the long-sought red cell membrane protein that conducts water.
Nobel Prize in Chemistry: An annual international award recognizing major contributions to chemistry, established by Alfred Nobel’s will. Agre received the 2003 prize for discovering water channels in cell membranes.
Aquaporin-2: A water-channel protein regulated by vasopressin in the kidney’s collecting ducts. It provides a prominent example of aquaporins’ role in controlling body water balance.
2003 Nobel Prize in Chemistry: The Chemistry Nobel awarded to Peter Agre for water channels and Roderick MacKinnon for ion channels. The award recognized Agre’s discovery as a major advance in understanding membrane transport.

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