Entrez 5599 | Ensembl ENSG00000107643 | |
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Aliases MAPK8, Mapk8, AI849689, JNK, JNK1, Prkm8, SAPK1, JNK-46, JNK1A2, JNK21B1/2, SAPK1c, mitogen-activated protein kinase 8 External IDs MGI: 1346861 HomoloGene: 56760 GeneCards: MAPK8 | ||
Mitogen-activated protein kinase 8 (also known as JNK1) is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the MAPK8 gene.
Contents
Function
The protein encoded by this gene is a member of the MAP kinase and JNK family. MAP kinases 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. This kinase is activated by various cell stimuli, and targets specific transcription factors, and thus mediates immediate-early gene expression in response to cell stimuli. The activation of this kinase by tumor-necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) is found to be required for TNF-alpha-induced apoptosis. This kinase is also involved in UV radiation-induced apoptosis, which is thought to be related to the cytochrome c-mediated cell death pathway. Studies of the mouse counterpart of this gene suggested that this kinase play a key role in T cell proliferation, apoptosis and differentiation. Four alternately spliced transcript variants encoding distinct isoforms have been reported.
Interactions
MAPK8 has been shown to interact with: