The authors postulated that the expression of AQP5 may be decreased in the CRS group because Staphylococcus aureus, the infectious microbe used in this study to elicit CRS, destroys the ciliated epithelium and glandular tissue in which AQP5 is primarily localized, but this latter effect is suppressed by dexamethasone, resulting in an increase in AQP5 expression. Here, AQP5 is linked to congenital rubella syndrome.