AQP7 and metabolic syndrome: As human AQP7 gene is localized in a chromosomal region with reported linkage to type 2 diabetes (T2D) (Luo et al., 2001; Lindgren et al., 2002) and the metabolic syndrome (Loos et al., 2003), AQP7 expression has been particularly studied in patients suffering from obesity, T2D and metabolic syndrome.