This is followed by a discussion of regulatory mechanisms underlying CDI and NDI , with a focus on the regulatory axis of vasopressin, vasopressin receptor 2 (V2R ) and the water channel molecule, aquaporin 2 (AQP2 ).
Peptides with agonist activity at the vasopressin V(2) receptor are used clinically to treat fluid homeostasis disorders such as polyuria and central diabetes insipidus.
The identification, characterization, and mutational analysis of three different genes-the arginine vasopressin gene (AVP), the arginine vasopressin receptor 2 gene (AVPR2), and the vasopressin-sensitive water channel gene (aquaporin 2 [AQP2])-provide the basis for understanding of three different hereditary forms of "pure" diabetes insipidus: Neurohypophyseal diabetes insipidus, X-linked nephrogenic diabetes insipidus (NDI), and non-X-linked NDI, respectively.
The identification, characterization, and mutational analysis of three different genes, namely the prepro-arginine-vasopressin-neurophysin II gene (prepro-AVP-NPII), the arginine-vasopressin receptor 2 gene (AVPR2), and the vasopressin-sensitive water channel gene (aquaporin-2, AQP2), provide the basis for our understanding of three different hereditary forms of diabetes insipidus: autosomal dominant neurogenic diabetes insipidus, X-linked nephrogenic diabetes insipidus, and autosomal recessive nephrogenic diabetes insipidus, respectively.