Watching molecules move along a cell’s gatekeeper

A cell’s surface is a hub of activity, where gatekeepers in the cell membrane regulate molecules to enter and leave. Researchers at IIT Hyderabad have uncovered how one such membrane protein, aquaporin, selectively slows glycerol, while allowing water to pass through easily.

Using molecular dynamics simulations as a “computational microscope”, Dr Himanshu Joshi from the Department of Biotechnology, IIT Hyderabad, and doctoral student Kunal Rai peered into these nanoscale processes. Their study revealed a series of checkpoints that slow glycerol’s passage through the channel, where the molecule reorients itself to pass through.

Reference: Rai, K. & Joshi, H. (2026) Mechanistic insights into cooperative permeation of glycerol and water through Human Aquaporin-10, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2606178123