title: Regulation of smooth muscle contraction by small GTPases.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Vegetative Physiologie, Universitaet Koeln, Koeln, Germany, Gabriele.Pfitzer@uni-koeln.de.
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Puetz
authors.forename: Lubomir T
authors.initials: LT
authors.lastname: Lubomirov
authors.forename: Gabriele
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pfitzer
mesh_terms: D000199:Actins / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism; D020559:Monomeric GTP-Binding Proteins / Q000502:physiology*; D009119:Muscle Contraction / Q000502:physiology*; D009130:Muscle, Smooth / Q000502:physiology*; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology; D054460:rho-Associated Kinases / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D000199:Actins; D054460:rho-Associated Kinases; D020559:Monomeric GTP-Binding Proteins; D002118:Calcium