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Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) networks are the pathways and signaling of MAPK, which is a protein kinase that consists of amino acids serine and threonine. [1] MAPK pathways have both a positive and negative regulation in plants. A positive regulation of MAPK networks is to help in assisting with stresses from the environment.
Despite the high number of MAPK genes, MAPK pathways of higher plants were studied less than animal or fungal ones. Although their signaling appears very complex, the MPK3, MPK4 and MPK6 kinases of Arabidopsis thaliana are key mediators of responses to osmotic shock, oxidative stress, response to cold and involved in anti-pathogen responses.
When one of the proteins in the pathway is mutated, it can become stuck in the "on" or "off" position, a necessary step in the development of many cancers. In fact, components of the MAPK/ERK pathway were first discovered in cancer cells, and drugs that reverse the "on" or "off" switch are being investigated as cancer treatments. [1]
The signal transduction component labeled as "MAPK" in the pathway was originally called "ERK," so the pathway is called the MAPK/ERK pathway. The MAPK protein is an enzyme, a protein kinase that can attach phosphate to target proteins such as the transcription factor MYC and, thus, alter gene transcription and, ultimately, cell cycle ...
The MAP kinase-kinase, which activates ERK, was named "MAPK/ERK kinase" . [5] Receptor-linked tyrosine kinases, Ras, Raf, MEK, and MAPK could be fitted into a signaling cascade linking an extracellular signal to MAPK activation. [6] See: MAPK/ERK pathway. Transgenic gene knockout mice lacking MAPK1 have major defects in early development. [7]
MAPK phosphatases (MKPs) are the largest class of phosphatases involved in down-regulating Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) signaling. [1] [2] MAPK signalling pathways regulate multiple features of development and homeostasis. [3] [4] This can involve gene regulation, cell proliferation, programmed cell death and stress responses. [5]
The protein encoded by this gene is a member of the MAP kinase family. MAP kinases, also known as extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERKs), act as an integration point for multiple biochemical signals, and are involved in a wide variety of cellular processes such as proliferation, differentiation, transcription regulation and development.
Third, downstream effectors of mitogenic signaling are often mutated in cancer cells. An important mitogenic signaling pathway in humans is the Ras-Raf-MAPK pathway. Mitogenic signaling normally activates Ras, a GTPase, that then activates the rest of the MAPK pathway, ultimately expressing proteins that stimulate cell cycle progression.