Tyrosine kinases as key modulators of smooth muscle function in health and disease

Abstract

This issue contains two review articles based on talks given as part of a symposium entitled ‘Tyrosine kinases and smooth muscle function’ that took place in London, July 2014, hosted by the Physiological Society and supported by The Journal of Physiology. The symposium examined evidence for the involvement of non-receptor tyrosine kinases in multiple aspects of smooth muscle function, including their role in normal contractile responses to various stimuli and potentially important contributions to hyper-contractile states and vascular remodelling in hypertension. Senior speakers at the symposium were Professor Gervaise Loirand (University of Nantes, France), Professor Ralph Schermuly (Max-Plank Institute for Heart and Lung Research, Germany), and Dr Jacqueline Ohanian (Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, University of Manchester, UK).