Dual Mkk4 and Mkk7 Gene Deletion in Adult Mouse Causes an Impairment of Hippocampal Immature Granule Cells

Pharmacological inhibition of the MAP2K7 kinase in human disease

The MAP2K7 signaling pathway activates the c-Jun NH2-terminal protein kinase (JNK) in response to stress signals, such as inflammatory cytokines, osmotic stress, or genomic damage. While there has been interest in inhibiting JNK due to its involvement in inflammatory processes and cancer, there is increasing focus on developing MAP2K7 inhibitors to enhance specificity when MAP2K7 activation is associated with disease progression. Despite some progress, further research is needed to fully comprehend the role of MAP2K7 in cancer and assess the potential use of kinase inhibitors in cancer therapy. This review examines the role of MAP2K7 in cancer and the development of small-molecule inhibitors.

JNK signaling and its impact on neural cell maturation and differentiation

C-Jun-N-terminal-kinases (JNKs), members of the mitogen-activated-protein-kinase family, are significantly linked with neurological and neurodegenerative pathologies and cancer progression. However, JNKs serve key roles under physiological conditions, particularly within the central-nervous-system (CNS), where they are critical in governing neural proliferation and differentiation during both embryogenesis and adult stages. These processes control the development of CNS, avoiding neurodevelopment disorders. JNK are key to maintain the proper activity of neural-stem-cells (NSC) and neural-progenitors (NPC) that exist in adults, which keep the convenient brain plasticity and homeostasis. This review underscores how the interaction of JNK with upstream and downstream molecules acts as a regulatory mechanism to manage the self-renewal capacity and differentiation of NSC/NPC during CNS development and in adult neurogenic niches. Evidence suggests that JNK is reliant on non-canonical Wnt components, Fbw7-ubiquitin-ligase, and WDR62-scaffold-protein, regulating substrates such as transcription factors and cytoskeletal proteins. Therefore, understanding which pathways and molecules interact with JNK will bring knowledge on how JNK activation orchestrates neuronal processes that occur in CNS development and brain disorders.

Systemic mechanism of Panax noteginseng saponins in antiaging based on network pharmacology combined with experimental validation

This study aims to investigate the systemic mechanism of Panax notoginseng saponins (PNS) in antiaging using network pharmacology combined with experimental validation. String database and Cytoscape3.7.2 were used to perform the protein-protein interaction (PPI) and construct genes network. The key target genes were analyzed using gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG). Then, the aging-related genes were verified by reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction in SAM-P/8 mice, and performed molecular docking with the main components of PNS. Moreover, it produced cluster between Hub genes and differential genes. A total of 169 crossover genes were obtained, and the results of GO and KEGG indicated that the antiaging effect of PNS was mediated by apoptosis, cancer, and neurodegeneration and that five of the eight Hub genes had good binding activity with the main components of PNS. In addition, animal experiments reported that MAP2, MAPKK4, RAB6A, and Sortilin-1 have different levels of expression in the brain tissues of aging mice, and bind well docking with the main active components of PNS. However, there was no crossover between the 169 PNS intersecting genes and the four differential genes, while they yielded a link from PPI in which MAP2K4 was only linked to AKT1 and CASP3; MAP2 was only linked to AKT1 and CASP3; RAB6A was only linked to AKT1; but Sortlin-1 did not link to the Hub genes. In summary, the antiaging effect of PNS is associated with the eight Hub genes and four differential genes. All of them consist of a cluster or group that is possibly related to the antiaging effect of PNS.

MKK4 Inhibitors-Recent Development Status and Therapeutic Potential

MKK4 (mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 4; also referred to as MEK4) is a dual-specificity protein kinase that phosphorylates and regulates both JNK (c-Jun N-terminal kinase) and p38 MAPK (p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase) signaling pathways and therefore has a great impact on cell proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis. Overexpression of MKK4 has been associated with aggressive cancer types, including metastatic prostate and ovarian cancer and triple-negative breast cancer. In addition, MKK4 has been identified as a key regulator in liver regeneration. Therefore, MKK4 is a promising target both for cancer therapeutics and for the treatment of liver-associated diseases, offering an alternative to liver transplantation. The recent reports on new inhibitors, as well as the formation of a startup company investigating an inhibitor in clinical trials, show the importance and interest of MKK4 in drug discovery. In this review, we highlight the significance of MKK4 in cancer development and other diseases, as well as its unique role in liver regeneration. Furthermore, we present the most recent progress in MKK4 drug discovery and future challenges in the development of MKK4-targeting drugs.

Mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 7 in inflammatory, cancer, and neurological diseases

Stress-activated mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 7 (MKK7) is a member of the dual-specificity mitogen-activated protein kinase family. In the human body, MKK7 controls essential physiological processes, including but not limited to proliferation and differentiation in multiple tissues and organs. MKK7, along with the MKK4 pathway, has been implicated in stress-activated activities and biological events that are mediated by c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) signaling. Although numerous studies have been performed to identify the role of JNK in multiple biological processes, there are limited publications that focus on dissecting the independent role of MKK7. Recent research findings have spurred testing via in vivo genetically deficient models, uncovering previously undocumented JNK-independent functions of MKK7. Here we discuss both JNK-dependent and-independent functions of MKK7 in vivo. This review summarizes the role of MKK7 in inflammation, cytokine production, cancer, and neurological diseases.