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MINIREVIEW

Molecular Aspects of Arterial Smooth Muscle Contraction: Focus on Rho

Department of Physiology, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, Georgia 30912

To whom requests for reprints should be addressed at ¹ Department of Physiology, 1120 15th Street, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, GA 30912-3000. E-mail: cwebb{at}mail.mcg.edu

The vascular smooth muscle cell is a highly specialized cell whose primary function is contraction and relaxation. It expresses a variety of contractile proteins, ion channels, and signalling molecules that regulate contraction. Upon contraction, vascular smooth muscle cells shorten, thereby decreasing the diameter of a blood vessel to regulate the blood flow and pressure. Contractile activity in vascular smooth muscle cells is initiated by a Ca²⁺-calmodulin interaction to stimulate phosphorylation of the light chain of myosin. Ca²⁺-sensitization of the contractile proteins is signaled by the RhoA/Rho-kinase pathway to inhibit the dephosphorylation of the light chain by myosin phosphatase, thereby maintaining force. Removal of Ca²⁺ from the cytosol and stimulation of myoson phosphatase initiate the relaxation of vascular smooth muscle.

Key Words: smooth muscle • contraction • vascular • calcium • signaling