Developing small molecules to inhibit kinases unkind to the heart: p38 MAPK as a case in point.

Over the last 40 years targeting G protein-coupled receptors and their ligands has had a major impact on the treatment of cardiovascular disease. However, the last decade has seen little progress and focus has shifted, particularly in the field of cancer biology, to downstream kinases. This review focuses on the kinases within the heart that become active during myocardial infarction and heart failure and contribute to cardiac dysfunction, with a special emphasis on p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK).