BackgroundInformation | Theextracellularsignal-regulatedkinases1and2(ERK1andERK2),alsocalledMAPK1andMAPK2,aremembersoftheMitogenActivatedProteinKinase(MAPK)familyofproteinsfoundinalleukaryotes.Becausethe44kDaERK1andthe42kDaERK2arehighlyhomologousandbothfunctioninthesameproteinkinasecascade,thetwoproteinsareoftenreferredtocollectivelyasERK1/2orMAPK1/2.TheMAPK1/2signalingcascadehasbeenshowntobeacriticalregulatorofcelldifferentiation,cellphysiologyandneuronalfunction.AberrantcontrolofMAPK1/2activityhasbeenimplicatedinavarietyofpathologicalconditions,includingcancerandautoimmunediseases,andefficientstudymethodsareindemand. |