The Novel Roles of Four and A Half LIM Proteins 1 and 2 in the Cardiovascular System

Four and a half LIM domains protein 1 (FHL1) and FHL2,as the name suggests, contain four and a half LIM domainbinding proteins. Proteins in this family capable of interactingwith many types of proteins, including structural proteins,kinases, and several classes of transcription factors, have beenidentified. These interactions have been found to have importantroles in a variety of fundamental processes including transcriptionalregulation, cardiovascular development, hypertrophy,atherosclerosis, and angiogenesis. This article reviewsrecent advances in the characterization of FHL1 and FHL2,their biological roles, LIM domain binding proteins, and functionsin the cardiovascular system.