MAPK8, Official Symbol MAPK8provided by HGNC Official Full Name mitogen-activated protein kinase 8provided by HGNC Primary source HGNC:HGNC:6881 See related Ensembl:ENSG00000107643 MIM:601158; AllianceGenome:HGNC:6881 Gene type protein coding RefSeq status REVIEWED Organism Homo sapiens Lineage Eukaryota; Metazoa; Chordata; Craniata; Vertebrata; Euteleostomi; Mammalia; Eutheria; Euarchontoglires; Primates; Haplorrhini; Catarrhini; Hominidae; Homo Also known as JNK; JNK1; PRKM8; SAPK1; JNK-46; JNK1A2; SAPK1c; JNK21B1/2 Summary The protein encoded by this gene is a member of the MAP kinase 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 cytochrom 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. Several alternatively spliced transcript variants encoding distinct isoforms have been reported. [provided by RefSeq, Apr 2016] Expression Ubiquitous expression in brain (RPKM 9.4), thyroid (RPKM 7.2) and 25 other tissues See more Orthologs mouse all