Redox signaling modulates Rho activity and tissue contractility in the Caenorhabditis elegans spermatheca

Actomyosin-based contractility in smooth muscle and nonmuscle cells is regulated by signaling through the small GTPase Rho and by calcium-activated pathways. We use the myoepithelial cells of the Caenorhabditis elegans spermatheca to study the mechanisms of coordinated myosin activation in vivo. Here, we show that redox signaling modulates RHO-1/Rho activity in this contractile tissue. Exogenously added as well as endogenously generated hydrogen peroxide decreases spermathecal contractility by inhibition of RHO-1, which depends on a conserved cysteine in its nucleotide binding site (C20). Further, we identify an endogenous gradient of H(2)O(2) across the spermathecal tissue, which depends on the activity of cytosolic superoxide dismutase, SOD-1. Collectively, we show that SOD-1-mediated H(2)O(2) production regulates the redox environment and fine tunes Rho activity across the spermatheca through oxidation of RHO-1 C20.