This gene encodes a member of the Ser/Thr protein kinase family. This kinase is regulated through direct phosphorylation by p38 MAP kinase. In conjunction with p38 MAP kinase, this kinase is known to be involved in many cellular processes including stress and inflammatory responses, nuclear export, gene expression regulation and cell proliferation. Heat shock protein HSP27 was shown to be one of the substrates of this kinase in vivo. Two transcript variants encoding two different isoforms have been found for this gene. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2008]
Forensic Context
A study in mice and human cells demonstrated that the MAPKAPK2 is a direct target of miR-483-3p, where its down-regulation contributes to the antiproliferative effect of this microRNA during wound healing arrest in keratinocytes [Bertero et al. DOI:10.1096/fj.10-168401]. In a separate investigation of septic cardiomyopathy, the MAPKAPK2 was identified as an efferocytosis-related diagnostic marker, with its expression significantly upregulated in human SCM patients and LPS-treated murine RAW 264.7 cells, showing a diagnostic AUC of 0.907 in a validation set and positive correlation with immune cell infiltration [Li et al. DOI:10.1016/j.clim.2024.110301].