Extracellular signal-Regulated Kinases 1/2 and their role in cardiac diseases

• DOI: 10.14800/sp.457
• Publication Date: 2015-01-30T15:39:06Z
• Authors: Chatzifrangkeskou, M; Muchir, A
• Keywords: 0301 basic medicine; 0303 health sciences; 03 medical and health sciences; 13. Climate action; 3. Good health

Mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases comprise a well-studied family of serine/threonine protein kinases involved in signal transduction pathways that control multiple cellular processes. The extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK1/2) cascade is a central MAP kinase pathway that transmits signals from the cell surface to substrates either in the nucleus or in the cytoplasm. The transmission of the signal through the ERK1/2 cascade is mediated by phosphorylation and activation of protein kinases. Abnormal regulation of the ERK1/2 signals has been linked to diseases and recent work clearly implicated ERK1/2 signaling in the development of cardiac pathologies. Understanding the underlying mechanism and the consequences of the aberrant modulation of ERK1/2 cascade will lead to the development of pharmacologic inhibitors for the treatment of these cardiac disorders.