INTESTINAL SECRETORY DEFECTS AND DWARFISM IN MICE LACKING CGMP-DEPENDENT PROTEIN-KINASE-II

Cyclic guanosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cGMP)-dependent protein kinases (cGKs) mediate cellular signaling induced by nitric oxide and cGMP. Mi ce deficient in the type II cGK were resistant to Escherichia coli STa , an enterotoxin that stimulates cGMP accumulation and intestinal flui d secretion. The cGKII-deficient mice also developed dwarfism that was caused by a severe defect in endochondral ossification at the growth plates. These results indicate that cGKII plays a central role in dive rse physiological processes.