Tomás-Loba A, Manieri E, González-Terán B, Mora A, Leiva-Vega L, Santamans AM, Romero-Becerra R, Rodríguez E, Pintor-Chocano A, Feixas F, López JA, Caballero B, Trakala M, Blanco Ó, Torres JL, Hernández-Cosido L, Montalvo-Romeral V, Matesanz N, Roche-Molina M, Bernal JA, Mischo H, León M, Caballero A, Miranda-Saavedra D, Ruiz-Cabello J, Nevzorova YA, Cubero FJ, Bravo J, Vázquez J, Malumbres M, Marcos M, Osuna S, Sabio G.

p38γ is essential for cell cycle progression and liver tumorigenesis

Nature. 2019 Apr;568(7753):557-560

DOI: 10.1038/s41586-019-1112-8

RESUMEN

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most common malignancies worldwide and the third leading cause of cancer death, with 5-year overall survival rates under 12%. The process of liver cancer development, although poorly understood, is related to different etiologic factors like toxins, alcohol, or viral infection. At the molecular level, cell cycle misregulation plays a central role in promoting hepatocarcinogenesis. In this paper, we studied and established the importance of the stress activated kinase p38γ in HCC initiation and development. Importantly, our data strongly suggest that inhibition of p38γ can provide therapeutic benefit in HCC treatment and be used as an innovative therapeutic target against liver cancer.