Calponin and smooth muscle regulation.

Calponin has been implicated in the regulation of smooth muscle contraction as a result of its ability to inhibit the actin-activated Mg ATPase of smooth muscle myosin. This inhibitory effect is abolished by phosphorylation of calponin by Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II or protein kinase C, and restored following dephosphorylation by a type 2A protein phosphatase. Confocal immunofluorescent images of isolated smooth muscle cells colabeled with antibodies to calponin and actin or to calponin and tropomyosin indicate that calponin is present on thin filaments throughout the cell cytoplasm. Both calponin phosphorylation and myosin light chain phosphorylation increased in intact smooth muscle tissue strips when they contracted in response to carbachol or the phosphatase inhibitor okadaic acid. These results support the hypothesis that calponin phosphorylation-dephosphorylation plays a role in regulating smooth muscle contraction.