Molecular Insights into the MAPK Cascade during Viral Infection: Potential Crosstalk between HCQ and HCQ Analogues

Figure 1

The MAPK pathway: activators and inhibitors. This picture summarizes the main components of the MAPK pathways. Upon membrane receptor activation, or viral infection [3], Ras family GTPases trigger signaling cascades, leading to the activation of ERK, JNK, and p38, which in turn regulate transcription of a plethora of genes involved in many cell functions, including regulation of viral infection/replication. Inhibitors of specific MAPK proteins, discussed in this review, are shown: U0126 for MEK1, SB203580 for p38, and PD 98059 for ERK1/2. As discussed in the text, CQ and HCQ have the ability to interfere with the pathway at the level of Raf or, downstream, on ERK1/2 and p38 activation.