Activation of MAP Kinases in Primary Sensory Neurons

摘要

Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) transduce a broad range of extracellular stimuli into diverse intracellular responses by transcriptional and translational regulation, as well as by post-translational modification (Widmann et al. 1999; Ji et al. 2001). Early studies indicate a critical role of MAPK in regulating mitosis, proliferation, differentiation, and survival of mammalian cells during development. Recently, accumulating evidence has implicated the MAPK cascade in neuronal plasticity in the adult. ERK (extracellular signal-regulated kinase, including ERK1 and ERK2) is the best-studied member of the MAPK family, especially with regard to its activity-dependent activation and its regulation of neuronal plasticity, such as learning and memory, as well as its involvement in generating pain hypersensitivity (Ji and Woolf 2001; Sweatt 2001). Another two MAPK family members, p38 and c-Jun-N-terminal protein kinase (JNK), originally identified as stress-activated protein kinase (SAPK), are activated in many cells by cellular stress and cytokines. ERK5 is the least well-known member of the MAPK family (Widmann et al. 1999).