Regulation and functions of Rho-associated kinase.
Remarkable progress has been made in understanding effector molecules of small GTPase Rho, especially Rho-associated kinase (Rho-kinase/ROK/ROCK), in the past 5 years. Rho-associated kinase appears to mediate a large proportion of the signals from Rho and regulate dynamic reorganization of cytoskeletal proteins, such as stress fiber and focal adhesion formation. Several substrates of Rho-associated kinase have been reported and their cellular functions unraveled. In this review, we focus on the regulation and cellular functions of Rho-associated kinase.
Amano
M
M
Division of Signal Transduction, Nara Institute of Science and Technology, Ikoma, 630-0101, Japan.
Fukata
Y
Y
Kaibuchi
K
K
D000818:Animals; D002465:Cell Movement; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D003599:Cytoskeleton / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D020439:Growth Cones / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D015398:Signal Transduction; D054460:rho-Associated Kinases
D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins; D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; D054460:rho-Associated Kinases