AQP9 and steatosis: While selective small molecule AQP9 inhibitors with low micromolar IC50 values have already been reported and work is ongoing to increase the aqueous solubility of such blockers (Jelen et al., 2011; Wacker et al., 2013), preliminary studies using NAFLD cell models showed that silencing of AQP9 prevents or alleviates the degree of steatosis (Wang et al., 2013).