MAP2K4是抑癌基因，编码蛋白是一种细胞内双特异性激酶，可以直接磷酸化和激活JNK（c-Jun N端激酶）和p38 MAP激酶。MAP2K4本身被几种上游MAP激酶激酶激酶（MAPKKK）之一磷酸化和激活。JNK和p38 MAP激酶通路的激活是在多种环境应激反应中发生的，如DNA损伤、缺氧、热休克、电离辐射以及炎性细胞因子和生长因子。这些信号通路的激活导致下游效应分子如c-Jun、p53、ELK1、ATF2和其他参与细胞凋亡、细胞存活、生长和分化的转录因子的转录活性改变。MAP2K4的失活突变已在多种肿瘤细胞系和人类癌症中被鉴定，提示MAP2K4主要起肿瘤抑制作用。此外，MAP2K4也是是前列腺癌和卵巢癌细胞系的转移抑制因子。

MAP2K4, a tumor suppressor and intracellular kinase, is altered in various cancer types.MAP2K4 is a dual specificity kinase that directly phosphorylates and activates JNK (c-Jun N-terminal kinase) and p38 MAP kinase. MAP2K4 itself is phosphorylated and activated by one of several upstream MAP kinase kinase kinases (MAPKKK). The activation of JNK and p38 MAP kinase pathways occurs in response to a variety of environmental stressors, such as DNA damage, hypoxia, heat shock, ionizing radiation, as well as inflammatory cytokines and growth factors. Activation of these signaling pathways leads to altered transcriptional activity of downstream effector molecules such as c-Jun, p53, ELK1, ATF2 and several other transcription factors involved in apoptosis, cell survival, growth and differentiation . Inactivating mutations in MAP2K4 have been identified in a variety of tumor cell lines and human cancers, suggesting that MAP2K4 functions primarily as a tumor suppressor. Loss of heterozygosity of the 17p chromosomal region, where MAP2K4 is located in close proximity to TP53, is observed at a high frequency in many cancers. In addition, MAP2K4 has been found to act as a suppressor of metastasis in prostate and ovarian cell lines.

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