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Vasoconstriction, RhoA/Rho-kinase and the erectile response
T M Mills1, R W Lewis, C J Wingard
1Department of Physiology, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, Georgia 30912-3000, USA.tmills@mail.mcg.edu
Abstract:
Recent studies have suggested that contraction of the smooth muscle in the cavernosal arterioles and in the walls of the cavernosal sinuses is maintained by the RhoA/Rho-kinase signaling pathway. However, this contraction activity must be overcome to permit the vasorelaxation essential for erection. We postulate that nitric oxide (NO) causes erection primarily by inhibiting the RhoA/Rho-kinase pathway. The following will discuss evidence in support of the important role of Rho-kinase-mediated vasoconstriction in the nonerect penis and how NO overrides this Rho-kinase-mediated vasoconstriction to permit vasodilation and erection.
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