The aquaporins are a family of water-selective membrane channels. This gene encodes a member of a subset of aquaporins called the aquaglyceroporins. This protein allows passage of a broad range of noncharged solutes and also stimulates urea transport and osmotic water permeability. This protein may also facilitate the uptake of glycerol in hepatic tissue . The encoded protein may also play a role in specialized leukocyte functions such as immunological response and bactericidal activity. Alternate splicing results in multiple transcript variants.