MAPK8 and infection: In line with these observations, infection of macrophages with B. pseudomallei E8 caused a higher phosphorylation rate of c-Jun-N-terminal kinase (JNK) and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinases (p38 MAPK), which are both involved in apoptotic signalling pathways, compared to B. thailandensis E264, whereas phosphorylation signals were stronger in caspase-1/11-deficient compared to wild-type macrophages.