Background: In high-altitude animals, brain cell resilience against hypoxia stress is one critical evolutionary step that has promoted individual survival and species adaptation to the environment. Aquaporin-4 (AQP4) is implicated in a number of physiopathological processes, particularly in the development of brain edema, and other functions such as the regulation of extracellular space volume, potassium buffering, waste clearance, and calcium signaling. Still, the role of AQP4 in the adaptation to high-altitude hypoxia remains unknown. The yak (Bos grunniens) is the only large mammal that is currently known to have adapted to the high-altitude hypoxic environment of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (>4000 m above sea level).

中文翻译：

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牦牛（Bos grunniens）脑中水通道蛋白4对青藏高原高海拔缺氧的进化适应。

背景：在高海拔动物中，脑细胞对缺氧压力的恢复是促进个体生存和物种适应环境的关键进化步骤。水通道蛋白 4 (AQP4) 与许多生理病理过程有关，特别是在脑水肿的发展和其他功能中，例如调节细胞外空间体积、钾缓冲、废物清除和钙信号传导。尽管如此，AQP4 在适应高原缺氧中的作用仍然未知。牦牛（ Bos grunniens）是目前已知的唯一适应青藏高原（海拔>4000米）高海拔缺氧环境的大型哺乳动物。