Exploring Small-Molecule Inhibitors Targeting MAPK Pathway Components: Focus on ERK, MEK1, and MEK2 Kinases in Cancer Treatment

Abstract

Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs), also known as extracellular signal regulated kinases (ERKs), are found in numerous signal transduction pathways and are triggered by protein kinase cascades. This article will review the present state of MAPK pathway inhibitors, with an emphasis on the characteristics of tiny molecule blockers of the p38, MEK1, and MEK2 protein kinases. Many of these inhibitors have showed potential in experimental animal models of disease, and they are now being investigated in people for inflammatory and cancer diseases. Clinical trials are currently evaluating targeting a subset of cellular signaling cascades and signaling cascades that control pleiotropic cellular activity. These activities will have far-reaching consequences for the management of a wide range of disorders. The Ras-Raf-MEK-ERK (ERK) pathway, on the other hand, is a clear therapeutic target because it is a common downstream route for a range of critical growth factor tyrosine kinase receptors that are frequently changed or overexpressed in human malignancies. Several new medicines that target this route have been discovered and are currently being tested in clinical studies. BAY 43-9006 is one of the most intriguing new agents. Although it was initially created as a Raf kinase inhibitor, it also has the ability to target Flt-3, c-Kit, and VEGFR-2, which helps to explain its antiproliferative and antiangiogenic characteristics. The ERK signaling system in normal and malignant tissue will be discussed in this paper, with a focus on emerging treatments that target the ERK cascade at the Raf kinase level.