Cobb M H, Hepler J E, Cheng M, Robbins D
Department of Pharmacology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas 75235.
Semin Cancer Biol. 1994 Aug;5(4):261-8.
The MAP kinases are ubiquitous enzymes that are activated in a complex fashion and inactivated by multiple phosphatases including a dedicated dual specificity enzyme. These kinases have a diverse array of substrates with important functions that result in their substantial regulatory impact. The ERK/MAP kinase cascade displays not only downstream but also upstream interactions as well as cross talk with other signaling pathways which fine tunes the cascade in a cell type-specific fashion. Transforming agents utilize this cascade in inducing cell proliferation.
