# MAPK1

Source: https://onco.cc/targets/mapk1/  
OnCo record `mapk1` (Target). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

MAPK1 is a protein kinase, an enzyme that switches other proteins on by adding phosphate groups. The public catalogues list it as a drug target, an oncogene driver, a tumour suppressor and a biomarker, and clinical evidence ties its variants to diagnosis, prognosis or drug response.

## Summary

Serine/threonine kinase which acts as an essential component of the MAP kinase signal transduction pathway. MAPK1/ERK2 and MAPK3/ERK1 are the 2 MAPKs which play an important role in the MAPK/ERK cascade. They participate also in a signalling cascade initiated by activated KIT and KITLG/SCF.

CIViC holds 5 clinical evidence items and 1 assertion across 3 variants, naming Erlotinib and WZ4002. Open Targets scores its association with cancer at 0.82 (direct and indirect evidence; datatypes clinical 0.19, affected pathway 0.86, literature 0.99, genetic association 0.08, somatic mutation 0.95). IntOGen calls it a driver in 5 cohorts (4 activating, 1 loss-of-function), covering Cervical Squamous Cell Carcinoma, Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia/Small Lymphocytic Lymphoma, Hepatocellular Carcinoma, Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

## Fields

- Kind: Target
- Last checked: 2026-09-23
- Also known as: mitogen-activated protein kinase 1; Mitogen-activated protein kinase 1; ERK2; p41mapk; MAPK2; PRKM2; PRKM1
- Tags: cancer-genes-wave
- Symbol: MAPK1
- Class: kinase
- Biology: Serine/threonine kinase which acts as an essential component of the MAP kinase signal transduction pathway. MAPK1/ERK2 and MAPK3/ERK1 are the 2 MAPKs which play an important role in the MAPK/ERK cascade. They participate also in a signalling cascade initiated by activated KIT and KITLG/SCF. Depending on the cellular context, the MAPK/ERK cascade mediates diverse biological functions such as cell growth, adhesion, survival and differentiation through the regulation of transcription, translation, cytoskeletal rearrangements. The MAPK/ERK cascade also plays a role in initiation and regulation of meiosis, mitosis, and postmitotic functions in differentiated cells by phosphorylating a number of transcription factors. About 160 substrates have already been discovered for ERKs. Location: Cytoplasm, cytoskeleton, spindle; Nucleus; Cytoplasm, cytoskeleton, microtubule organizing center, centrosome; Cytoplasm (UniProt). Locus 22q11.22 (HGNC).
- Where found: Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma: CIViC evidence names this disease; IntOGen driver in 1 cohort (HNSC); Cervical cancer: Open Targets association 0.52 with cervical cancer (MONDO_0002974); IntOGen driver in 2 cohorts (CESC); Hepatocellular carcinoma: IntOGen driver in 1 cohort (HCC); Breast cancer: Open Targets association 0.54 with breast cancer (MONDO_0007254); Skin cancer: Open Targets association 0.52 with skin cancer (MONDO_0002898); Lung cancer: Open Targets association 0.51 with lung cancer (MONDO_0008903)

## Notes

- Written by scripts/fetch-cancer-genes.ts from CIViC, Open Targets, IntOGen, HGNC and UniProt; the function text is UniProt's, condensed and in UK spelling. Roles: Open Targets known-drug datatype score 0.19; IntOGen calls it an activating (Act) driver in 4 cohorts; IntOGen calls it a loss-of-function (LoF) driver in 1 cohort; CIViC holds 5 clinical evidence items on its variants. Evidence tier "clinical-evidence" is the strongest of those signals.
- Prevalence not recorded: none of the sources gives a positivity rate.

## Sources

- HGNC HGNC:6871: https://www.genenames.org/data/gene-symbol-report/#!/hgnc_id/HGNC:6871
- UniProt P28482: https://www.uniprot.org/uniprotkb/P28482/entry
- NCBI Gene 5594: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gene/5594
- Ensembl ENSG00000100030: https://www.ensembl.org/Homo_sapiens/Gene/Summary?g=ENSG00000100030

## Connected records

- collections: [CIViC](https://onco.cc/collections/civic/), [IntOGen](https://onco.cc/collections/intogen/), [Open Targets Platform](https://onco.cc/collections/open-targets/)
- cancers: [Breast cancer (all types)](https://onco.cc/cancers/breast-cancer/), [Cervical cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/cervical/), [Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia](https://onco.cc/cancers/cll/), [Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/head-and-neck/), [Hepatocellular carcinoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/hcc/), [Lung cancer (all types)](https://onco.cc/cancers/lung-cancer/), [Non-small-cell lung cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/nsclc/), [Skin cancer (all types)](https://onco.cc/cancers/skin-cancer/)

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JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/entities/mapk1.json