• HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
Monday, August 4, 2025
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News

To die or not to die in response to stress, a decision regulated by MK2 protein levels

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
July 19, 2021
in Science News
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram

IMAGE

Credit: IRB Barcelona

Living organisms are often exposed to stress stimuli generated either by external or internal factors, and they need to respond accordingly. At a cellular level, stress usually triggers the activation of survival pathways that contribute to the recovery of cell homeostasis. However, when stress is too high, a process of cell death is initiated that eliminates the damaged cell.

Scientists led by ICREA researcher Dr. Angel Nebreda, head of the Signalling and Cell Cycle laboratory at IRB Barcelona, have identified an important role of the p38-MK2 pathway in determining cell fate in response to stress.

“Our study describes a molecular mechanism that cells can use to translate the stress-induced activation of the p38a-MK2 pathway into an appropriate biological response,” says Dr. Nebreda.

When cells are exposed to high levels of stress, the p38-MK2 pathway is activated in a sustained manner, promoting the degradation of the MK2 protein, which correlates with cell death. However, moderate levels of stress trigger only a temporary activation of the p38-MK2 pathway, which allows the re-accumulation of MK2 and leads to cell survival. Thus, MK2 protein levels act as a molecular indicator that informs cells whether to stay alive or to initiate self-destruction.

“By using human and mouse cell lines treated with different stress stimuli, we showed that MK2 expression levels are regulated by stress intensity and that they are critical for the viability of stressed cells,” explains Dr. Núria Gutiérrez-Prat, who started the work and is the first co-author of the article, together with Dr. Mónica Cubillos-Rojas and Dr. Begoña Canovas.

p38, a protein related to stress and cancer

p38 is a central protein that regulates many cellular processes by modulating the activity of a number of other proteins. Diseases such as cancer show alterations in the p38 pathway, and high p38 activity levels are sometimes linked to poor prognosis, for example in lung tumours. Moreover, the dysregulation of this p38-MK2 pathway has been linked to several human diseases, such as inflammatory disorders and cancer.

Further studies will investigate whether the regulation of the p38-MK2 pathway in response to strong or sustained stress functions as a common sensor of irreversible damage among cell types. Researchers will also study the possible relevance of these stress response mechanisms in causing diseases, and whether the stress response differs under pathological situations.

###

The study has been supported by the European Research Council (ERC), the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (MICINN) and the Catalan Agency for Management of University and Research Grants (AGAUR).

Media Contact
Nahia Barberia
[email protected]

Related Journal Article

http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2024562118

Tags: BiologyBiotechnologycancerCell BiologyGeneticsMedicine/HealthMolecular Biology
Share12Tweet8Share2ShareShareShare2

Related Posts

blank

Quantum Teleportation Achieved Over 12.3 km Fiber

August 4, 2025
Tabernanthalog Spurs Neuroplasticity Without Immediate Gene Activation

Tabernanthalog Spurs Neuroplasticity Without Immediate Gene Activation

August 4, 2025

Breaking Boundaries: The Deaminative Giese Reaction Revolution

August 4, 2025

Unexpected Urban Greenspace Soil Microbiome Uniformity Revealed

August 4, 2025
Please login to join discussion

POPULAR NEWS

  • Blind to the Burn

    Overlooked Dangers: Debunking Common Myths About Skin Cancer Risk in the U.S.

    60 shares
    Share 24 Tweet 15
  • Neuropsychiatric Risks Linked to COVID-19 Revealed

    58 shares
    Share 23 Tweet 15
  • Predicting Colorectal Cancer Using Lifestyle Factors

    45 shares
    Share 18 Tweet 11
  • Dr. Miriam Merad Honored with French Knighthood for Groundbreaking Contributions to Science and Medicine

    46 shares
    Share 18 Tweet 12

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Recent News

Quantum Teleportation Achieved Over 12.3 km Fiber

Tabernanthalog Spurs Neuroplasticity Without Immediate Gene Activation

Breaking Boundaries: The Deaminative Giese Reaction Revolution

  • Contact Us

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.