Expression of aquaporin8 in human astrocytomas: Correlation with pathologic grade

•AQP8 is mainly distributed in the cytoplasm of human astrocytoma cells.•AQP8 over-expressed in human astrocytomas, especially glioblastoma.•The up-regulation of AQP8 is related to the pathological grade of human astrocytomas.•AQP8 may contribute to the growth and proliferation of astrocytomas. Aquaporin8 (AQP8), a member of the aquaporin (AQP) protein family, is weakly distributed in mammalian brains. Previous studies on AQP8 have focused mainly on the digestive and the reproductive systems. AQP8 has a pivotal role in keeping the fluid and electrolyte balance. In this study, we investigated the expression changes of AQP8 in 75 cases of human brain astrocytic tumors using immunohistochemistry, Western blotting, and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. The results demonstrated that AQP8 was mainly distributed in the cytoplasm of astrocytoma cells. The expression levels and immunoreactive score of AQP8 protein and mRNA increased in low-grade astrocytomas, and further increased in high-grade astrocytomas, especially in glioblastoma. Therefore, AQP8 may contribute to the proliferation of astrocytomas, and may be a biomarker and candidate therapy target for patients with astrocytomas.