Table 1.

Regulation of aquaporin expression by traditional Chinese medicine in cardiovascular diseases.

Type	Distribution	Function	Associated diseases	Traditional medicine	Aquaporin affected	Associated cardiovascular effects	Reference
AQP1	Found in the kidneys, eyes, brain, lungs, etc.	Facilitates water transport across cell membranes, especially in renal tubules	Hypertension, kidney diseases, CHD, eye disorders	Yiqi Jianpi formula	AQP1↓	Downregulates NF-κB, IL-6, and TNF-α and AQP1 expression in myocardial tissue, reducing inflammatory response and edema, and thereby improving coronary heart disease symptoms	(36)
				Naoxintong capsules	AQP1↓	Inhibits AQP1 expression, alleviates myocardial edema and cell apoptosis, and exerts cardioprotective effects	(37)
				XinLi formula	AQP1↓	Alleviates myocardial fibrosis by inhibiting AGTR1/NLRP3 signaling, reducing plasma IL-1β, IL-18, IL-6, and TNF-α levels; mitigates myocardial edema by suppressing the interaction between AGTR1 and AQP1	(5)
AQP2	Primarily in renal collecting ducts	Regulates water reabsorption, crucial for maintaining water balance	Kidney diseases, heart failure, hypertension, hyponatremia	Bushen Huoxue recipe	AQP2↓	Decreases serum BNP in CHF rats and downregulates AQP2 in renal tissue, thereby improving cardiac function	(38)
				Descurainiae sophia	AQP2↓	Targets the RAAS and AVP systems to reduce AQP2 expression in renal tissue, increases urine output, and thus improves heart failure	(39)
				Wenyang Xiaoying	AQP2↑	Reduces serum BNP levels in a CHF rat model and upregulates renal AQP2	(40)
AQP3	Found in the kidneys, skin, gastrointestinal tract, and lungs	Participates in water reabsorption and glycerol transport	Xerosis, skin hydration, cardiac toxic injury, and kidney diseases	Ganoderma lucidum	AQP3↓	Downregulates AQP3, AQP4, and AQP7 levels, improving myocardial cell injury	(41)
AQP4	Found in the brain, spinal cord, and eyes	Regulates cerebrospinal fluid and water balance in the brain	Brain edema, chronic pulmonary heart disease, multiple sclerosis	Jianxin Pinglv pills	AQP4↑	Reduces the incidence and mortality of reperfusion arrhythmias and alleviates ischemic myocardial edema injury	(42)
				Jian Xin soups	AQP4↑	Inhibits the inflammatory response, improving cardiac function and blood oxygenation	(43)
				Tongxinluo capsules	AQP4↓	Inhibits AQP1, AQP4, AQP8, and AQP9 expression, reducing myocardial edema and ameliorating myocardial cell injury	(44)
AQP7	Found in adipose tissue, liver, and kidneys	Primarily responsible for glycerol and water transport	Diabetes, obesity, cardiac toxic injury	Yiqi Wenyang Zhushui soups	AQP7↓	Improves heart failure status, enhances ATP levels in failing hearts, and downregulates AQP1, AQP4, and AQP7	(45)
				Xinshuitong capsule		Suppresses AQP1, AQP4, and AQP7 expression, alleviating myocardial edema and cardiac remodeling, thereby mitigating the cardiotoxicity of antineoplastic agents	(46)
AQP8	Found in the liver, kidneys, and pancreas	Facilitates water and glycerol transport	Liver diseases, myocardial infarction, and pancreatic disorders	Tongxinluo capsule	AQP8↓	Inhibits AQP1, AQP4, AQP8, and AQP9 expression, reducing myocardial edema and alleviating myocardial cell injury	(44)
AQP9	Found in the liver and white blood cells	Regulates water and glycerol transport	Liver diseases, myocardial infarction, and immune system disorders	Tongxinluo capsules	AQP9↓	Inhibits AQP1, AQP4, AQP8, and AQP9 expression, reducing myocardial edema and alleviating myocardial cell injury	(44)

NF-κB, nuclear factor kappa B; IL-6, interleukin 6; TNF-α, tumor necrosis factor alpha; CHF, chronic heart failure; CHD, coronary heart disease.