INTRACELLULAR SIGNALING THROUGH PROTEIN-KINASES IN THE HEART

Protein kinases play important roles in intracellular signalling pathw ays in probably all cells. In the heart, they are involved in the regu lation of ion handling, contractility, fuel metabolism and growth. In this review, we discuss the consequences of activation of protein kina ses known to be expressed in the heart. We concentrate principally on the following: cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase, protein kinase C, mitogen-activated protein kinase, Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein ki nases and pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase.