Mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases are members of a well-studied family of serine/threonine protein kinases involved in signal transduction pathways, which control multiple cellular processes. The extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK1/2) cascade is a MAP kinase pathway that transmits signals from the cell surface to substrates either in the nucleus or in the cytoplasm. The transmission of the signal through the ERK1/2 cascade is mediated by serial phosphorylations and activations of

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... rotein kinases. Abnormal regulation of the ERK1/2 signals has been linked to diseases and recent work clearly implicated ERK1/2 signaling in the development of cardiac pathologies. Understanding the underlying mechanism and the consequences of the aberrant modulation of ERK1/2 cascade will lead to the development of pharmacologic inhibitors for the treatment of these cardiac disorders.