The serine/threonine kinase PRAK is activated in response to cellular stress and proinflammatory cytokines, through its phosphorylation by MAP kinases including MAPK1/ERK, MAPK14/p38 alpha, and MAPK11/p38 beta. PRAK has been reported to have a putative tumor suppressor function by mediating senescence upon activation by p38 in response to oncogenic ras. It is thought that phosphorylation of p53 by PRAK following activation of p38 MAPK by ras plays an important role in ras induced senescence ａ

MAP kinase activated protein kinase 2 (MAPKAP Kinase 2), also known as p45 hsp27 kinase, is a 45-54 kDa serine/threonine protein kinase that contains a proline rich sequence and two putative SH3 binding sites. MAPKAP Kinase 2 is activated in response to stress, IL1 and TNF, possibly catalyzed by p38/Hog dependent phosphorylation. One of the major substrates of MAPKAP Kinase 2 is hsp27, which stimulates actin polymerization in order to facilitate recovery from destruction of cytoskeleton durin

MEF2D is a member of the myocyte-specific enhancer factor 2 (MEF2) family of transcription factors. Members of this family are involved in control of muscle and neuronal cell differentiation and development, and are regulated by class II histone deacetylases. Fusions of the encoded protein with Deleted in Azoospermia-Associated Protein 1 (DAZAP1) due to a translocation have been found in an acute lymphoblastic leukemia cell line, suggesting a role in leukemogenesis. The encoded protein may a

This gene encodes a member of the bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) family and the TGF-beta superfamily. This group of proteins is characterized by a polybasic proteolytic processing site that is cleaved to produce a mature protein containing seven conserved cysteine residues. The members of this family are regulators of cell growth and differentiation in both embryonic and adult tissues. This protein is involved in the establishment of left-right asymmetry in early embryogenesis and in neur

Procalcitonin (PCT) is a peptide precursor of the hormone calcitonin, the latter being involved with calcium homeostasis. It arises once preprocalcitonin is cleaved by endopeptidase. It is composed of 116 amino acids and is produced by parafollicular cells (C cells) of the thyroid and by the neuroendocrine cells of the lung and the intestine.

MSK1 is a mitogen and stress activated protein kinase 1 which belongs to the AGC family of kinases and is related in structure to the ribosomal p70 S6 kinase subfamily. MSK1 can be activated by ERK1/2 and SAPK2/p38 MAP kinase. It is also known to be required for the phosphorylation of CREB, ATF1 H3 and HMG14 in response to mitogen and stress. Similar to RSK, MSK1 contains two kinase domains (N term and a C term). Once phosphorylated on Thr581 and Ser360 by ERK1/2 and SAPK2/p38, MSK1 aut