MAPK3 and heart failure: Recent reports demonstrate that the Raf-MEK-ERK signaling pathway plays a differential role during the time course of cardiac remodeling: increased phosphorylation and activation of ERK1/2 in early stage promotes cardiomyocyte hypertrophy and cardiac remodelling but in later stages decreased phosphorylation and downregulation of ERK1/2 increases myocyte apoptosis leading to LV dilatation and heart failure [14, 24–26].