{"symbol":"MAPK8","synonyms":["JNK","SAPK1","JNK-46","JNK1","PRKM8","JNK1A2","JNK21B1/2","SAPK1C"],"name":"mitogen-activated protein kinase 8","description":"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]","ncbiEntrezGeneId":5599,"ncbiEntrezGeneUrl":"http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gene/5599","proteins":[{"symbol":"MK08_HUMAN","href":"/api/1.0/protein/MK08_HUMAN"}],"hgncRootFamilies":[{"name":"Mitogen-activated protein kinase cascade","href":"/api/1.0/gene_family/Mitogen-activated+protein+kinase+cascade"}]}