[Mitogen-activated protein kinases in atherosclerosis]

Intracellular signalling cascades, in which MAPK (mitogen-activated protein kinases) intermediate, are responsible for a biological response of a cell to an external stimulus. MAP kinases, which include ERK1/2 (extracellular signalling-regulated kinase), JNK (c-Jun N-terminal kinase) and p 38 MAPK, regulate the activity of many proteins, enzymes and transcription factors and thus have a wide spectrum of biological effects. Many basic scientific studies have defined numerous details of their pathway organization and activation. There are also more and more studies suggesting that individual MAP kinases probably play an important role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. They may mediate inflammatory processes, endothelial cell activation, monocyte/macrophage recruitment and activation, smooth muscle cell proliferation and T-lymphocyte differentiation, all of which represent crucial mechanisms involved in pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. The specific inhibition of an activity of the respective MAP kinases may prove a new therapeutic approach to attenuate atherosclerotic plaque formation in the future. In this paper, we review the current state of knowledge concerning MAP kinase-dependent cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying atherosclerosis.