title: Structure-function relationships in smooth muscle: the missing links.
abstract: Smooth muscle cells have developed a contractile machinery that allows them to exert tension on the surrounding extracellular matrix over their entire length. This has been achieved by coupling obliquely organized contractile filaments to a more-or-less longitudinal framework of cytoskeletal elements. Earlier structural data suggested that the cytoskeleton was composed primarily of intermediate filaments and played only a passive role. More recent findings highlight the segregation of actin isotypes and of actin-associated proteins between the contractile and cytoskeletal domains and raise the possibility that the cytoskeleton performs a more active function. Current efforts focus on defining the relative contributions of myosin cross-bridge cycling and actin-associated protein interactions to the maintenance of tension in smooth muscle tissue.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Molecular Biology, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Salzburg, Austria.
authors.forename: J V
authors.initials: JV
authors.lastname: Small
mesh_terms: D003599:Cytoskeleton / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D009119:Muscle Contraction / Q000502:physiology*; D009124:Muscle Proteins / Q000502:physiology*; D009130:Muscle, Smooth / Q000502:physiology*; D011485:Protein Binding; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship
chemical_list: D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D009124:Muscle Proteins