Rho exchange factors in the cardiovascular system.
Increasing evidence has accumulated to implicate overactivation of Rho protein as a common component for the pathogenesis of several cardiovascular disorders including hypertension, coronary and cerebral vasospasm, atherosclerosis, and diabetes. Recent advances in Rho protein signaling research indicate that the Rho exchange factors (Rho GEFs) which activate Rho proteins by catalyzing the exchange of GDP for GTP are major regulators of Rho protein activity. In addition, linkage analysis and association studies have recently identified Rho GEFs as susceptibility genes for cardiovascular diseases. All of these data are converging to suggest that as upstream activators of Rho proteins, Rho GEFs expressed in cardiovascular cells are good candidate targets for the treatment of cardiovascular disorders.
Loirand
Gervaise
G
Inserm, U915, Nantes F-44000, France.
Scalbert
Elizabeth
E
Bril
Antoine
A
Pacaud
Pierre
P
D000818:Animals; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002320:Cardiovascular Physiological Phenomena; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems; D015870:Gene Expression; D020662:Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factors / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D015398:Signal Transduction; D020741:rho GTP-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*
D020662:Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factors; D020741:rho GTP-Binding Proteins