Regulation of smooth muscle contraction by small GTPases.

Sandra Puetz, Lubomir T Lubomirov, Gabriele Pfitzer

Institut für Vegetative Physiologie, Universitaet Koeln, Koeln, Germany, Gabriele.Pfitzer@uni-koeln.de.

Physiology (Bethesda, Md.) 2009 Dec

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Next to changes in cytosolic [Ca(2+)], members of the Rho subfamily of small GTPases, in particular Rho and its effector Rho kinase, also known as ROK or ROCK, emerged as key regulators of smooth muscle function in health and disease. In this review, we will focus on the regulation of the contractile machinery by Rho/ROK signaling and its interaction with PKC and cyclic nucleotide signaling. We will briefly discuss the emerging evidence that remodeling of cortical actin is necessary for contraction.

Citation

Sandra Puetz, Lubomir T Lubomirov, Gabriele Pfitzer. Regulation of smooth muscle contraction by small GTPases. Physiology (Bethesda, Md.). 2009 Dec;24:342-56