Pharmacological inhibitors of the ERK signaling pathway: application as anticancer drugs.

The ERK signaling pathway, also known as the p42/p44 MAP kinase pathway, is a major determinant in the control of cell growth, cell differentiation and cell survival. This pathway, which operates downstream of Ras, is often up-regulated in human tumors and as such represents an attractive target for anticancer therapy. In this chapter we review the rationale for targeting the components of the ERK pathway, either alone or in association with cytotoxic anticancer agents. We present the most advanced inhibitors of this pathway and discuss their specificity and mechanism of action.