RhoA/Rho kinase: a novel therapeutic target in diabetic complications.

OBJECTIVE

To reveal the roles of Rho kinase (ROCK) in the mechanisms of complications in diabetes by reviewing the correlations between ROCK and related complications in diabetes.

DATA SOURCES

The data used in the present article were mainly from PubMed with relevant English articles published from 1998 to 2010. The search terms were "ROCK" and "diabetes".

STUDY SELECTION

Original articles including the roles of ROCK or its inhibitors in diabetic complications and review articles about the biological character of ROCK were selected.

RESULTS

The activity and expression of ROCK were up-regulated in the models of type 1 or type 2 diabetes animals and the cultured cells with concentrations of high glucose, ROCK activation was associated with the development or progression of complications in diabetes. Inhibition of RhoA/ROCK pathway prevented or ameliorated the pathologic changes of diabetic complications, and ROCK has been regarded as a key target for treatment of these complications.

CONCLUSION

RhoA/ROCK signaling plays important roles in the pathogenesis of long-term complications in diabetes and ROCK inhibitors are becoming a promising solution to treatments of complications in diabetes.