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ARTICLE | Clinical News

Study links MAP3K8 to inflammatory diseases

April 21, 2017 8:02 PM UTC

In a paper published in Science Signaling, researchers from the Genentech Inc. unit of Roche (SIX:ROG; OTCQX:RHHBY) characterized the role of the mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase 8 (MAP3K8; COT; TPL2) pathway in inflammation and said it could be a druggable target for autoimmune diseases.

The researchers found high levels of MAP3K8 in inflamed tissue from Crohn's disease (CD) patients and skin lesions from patients with psoriasis. In mouse models of psoriasis, arthritis, and colitis, blocking MAP3K8 reduced inflammatory symptoms and disease pathology; and in human neutrophils, inhibition of MAP3K8 reduced levels of inflammatory cytokines. Pathway analysis showed MAP3K8 positively regulated p38 MAPK activity in addition to MEK-ERK pathway in the neutrophils...

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