The Continuous Positive Airway Pressure Effect on Rho-associated Coiled-coil Containing Kinases Activity.

The ROCK were discovered as downstream targets of Ras homologous A and regulate various important cellular functions, including proliferation, migration, adhesion, and apoptosis. They play a critical role in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases, including cardiac fibrosis, hypertrophy, and remodeling. ROCK activity can be detected in human circulating leukocytes and could potentially be used as a clinical biomarker for the diagnosis and monitoring of cardiovascular disorders. It has been proven that higher ROCK activity is present in left ventricle hypertrophy (LVH) patients than those without LVH. Obstructive sleep apnea(OSA) is characterized by recurrent collapse of the pharyngeal airway during sleep that leads to intermittent nocturnal hypoxia, resulting in a broad range of cardiovascular morbidities, including coronary artery disease, heart failure, cardiac arrhythmias, and LVH. Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is the standard therapy for OSA and several studies have shown that it can effectively reduce cardiovascular disease, but the effect of CPAP on left ventricle mass reduction is still uncertain. Previous studies demonstrated that patients with OSA had higher circulatory ROCK activity than those without OSA, but the role of CPAP on ROCK activity is not known. The circulatory leukocyte ROCK activity may be used as a clinical biomarker for cardiovascular disease and ROCK inhibitors may be used in the future as a treatment. OSA and CPAP treatment may also affect ROCK activity, the relationship between CPAP treatment, cardiac hypertrophy, and ROCK activity is important and should be clarified. Therefore, the main purpose of our study is to evaluate the effect of CPAP on ROCK activity and left ventricle mass.