Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) and serum measurements stratified for the aquaporin-5 (AQP5) –1364A/C promoter genotype in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Each first column indicates patients with the homozygous AA genotype, and each second column indicates carriers of the C-allele (AC and CC genotypes). The AC/CC genotype shows lower BAL total protein concentrations (A ), albumin concentrations (B ), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity (C ), and white cell concentration (D ), suggesting attenuated pulmonary inflammation, whereas the respective sera do not show such differences between genotypes.