Caldesmon and smooth-muscle regulation.

Smooth muscles exist in the wall of hollow organs in our body and are responsible for controlling the flow of vital fluids that are essential for the normal function of the cardiovascular, respiratory, digestive, and reproductive systems. Many diseases, such as hypertension, asthma, indigestion, and premature birth, may attribute to malfunction of smooth-muscle contraction. It is therefore important to decipher how smooth-muscle contraction is regulated. This review attempts to give a brief overview of current understanding about the molecular mechanisms of smooth-muscle regulation and, in particular, to discuss possible roles of caldesmon in this regulatory process.