MAPK8 and familial pancreatic carcinoma: Interestingly, when we analyzed the phosphorylation status of Jun-amino-terminal kinase (JNK) whose role in cell death is well established (reviewed in ref. 31), we observed JNK activation/phosphorylation in cells incubated with 40 μM AS104 for 48 h suggesting that the JNK pathway might contribute to cell killing in pancreatic cancer cells treated with AS104.