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.