Activation of p38 and determination of its activity

The p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway plays an important role in cellular responses to inflammatory stimuli and environmental stresses. Extracellular stimuli activate kinases upstream of p38, such as MKK3 and MKK6, which subsequently phosphorylate p38. p38 then participates in numerous biological processes by phosphorylating its downstream substrates. Here, our methodology mainly highlights how endogenous or exogenous p38 can be activated and its upstream kinases and downstream substrates identified.