p38 Mitogen Activated Protein Kinase Mediates Both Death Signaling and Functional Depression in the Heart

The p38 MAPK pathway indeed mediates the following important events in myocardial apoptosis and functional depression: mitogen-activated protein kinase-activated protein kinase 2, caspase-1, caspase-3 and caspase-11 activation, and tumor necrosis factor, interleukin-1β, interleukin-6 production after myocardial ischemia. Single site (p38 MAPK) inhibition of these events may have important therapeutic implications in myocardial protection.