Journal
EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE
Volume 230, Issue 11, Pages 829-835Publisher
SAGE PUBLICATIONS LTD
DOI: 10.1177/153537020523001107
Keywords
smooth muscle; contraction; vascular; calcium; signaling
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Funding
- NHLBI NIH HHS [HL-71138, HL-74167] Funding Source: Medline
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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.
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