# MAPK9

Source: https://onco.cc/targets/mapk9/  
OnCo record `mapk9` (Target). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

MAPK9 (Mitogen-activated protein kinase 9) is a protein kinase, an enzyme that switches other proteins on by adding phosphate groups. The public catalogues list it as a drug target, and clinical evidence ties its variants to diagnosis, prognosis or drug response.

## Summary

Serine/threonine-protein kinase involved in various processes such as cell proliferation, differentiation, migration, transformation and programmed cell death. Extracellular stimuli such as pro-inflammatory cytokines or physical stress stimulate the stress-activated protein kinase/c-Jun N-terminal kinase (SAP/JNK) signalling pathway. In this cascade, two dual specificity kinases MAP2K4/MKK4 and MAP2K7/MKK7 phosphorylate and activate MAPK9/JNK2.

Open Targets scores its association with cancer at 0.57 (direct and indirect evidence; datatypes clinical 0.06, affected pathway 0.89, literature 0.89, genetic association 0.00, animal model 0.34).

## Fields

- Kind: Target
- Last checked: 2026-09-23
- Also known as: mitogen-activated protein kinase 9; Mitogen-activated protein kinase 9; JNK2; p54a; PRKM9
- Tags: cancer-genes-wave
- Symbol: MAPK9
- Class: kinase
- Biology: Serine/threonine-protein kinase involved in various processes such as cell proliferation, differentiation, migration, transformation and programmed cell death. Extracellular stimuli such as pro-inflammatory cytokines or physical stress stimulate the stress-activated protein kinase/c-Jun N-terminal kinase (SAP/JNK) signalling pathway. In this cascade, two dual specificity kinases MAP2K4/MKK4 and MAP2K7/MKK7 phosphorylate and activate MAPK9/JNK2. In turn, MAPK9/JNK2 phosphorylates a number of transcription factors, primarily components of AP-1 such as JUN and ATF2 and thus regulates AP-1 transcriptional activity. In response to oxidative or ribotoxic stresses, inhibits rRNA synthesis by phosphorylating and inactivating the RNA polymerase 1-specific transcription initiation factor RRN3. Promotes stressed cell apoptosis by phosphorylating key regulatory factors including TP53 and YAP1. Location: Cytoplasm; Nucleus (UniProt). Locus 5q35.3 (HGNC).

## 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 0.06. Evidence tier "clinical-evidence" is the strongest of those signals.
- Prevalence not recorded: none of the sources gives a positivity rate.

## Sources

- HGNC HGNC:6886: https://www.genenames.org/data/gene-symbol-report/#!/hgnc_id/HGNC:6886
- UniProt P45984: https://www.uniprot.org/uniprotkb/P45984/entry
- NCBI Gene 5601: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gene/5601
- Ensembl ENSG00000050748: https://www.ensembl.org/Homo_sapiens/Gene/Summary?g=ENSG00000050748

## Connected records

- collections: [Open Targets Platform](https://onco.cc/collections/open-targets/)

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JSON: https://onco.cc/api/v1/entities/mapk9.json