In response to environmental stresses, cells need to activate an adaptive program to maximize cell progression and survival. Stress-activated protein kinases (SAPK) are key signal transduction kinases required to respond to stress. Prototypical members of SAPKs are the yeast Hog1 and mammalian p38. Upon stress, those enzymes play a critical role in mounting the adaptive responses to stress such as the regulation of metabolism and the control of gene expression. In addition, a major function of SAPKs in response to stress is to modulate cell cycle progression. In this review, we focus on the role of Hog1 and p38 in the control of cell cycle progression in response to environmental stresses.

Copyright © 2012 Federation of European Biochemical Societies. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.