In a previous study, it was shown that knockdown of PERK resulted in an autophagic cell death response, suggesting that PERK activation is a necessary element for the metabolic transformation of a plasma cell to a myeloma cell, but also as an impediment of the apoptotic response, revealing the dual activity of PERK, as both a protector and a cell death promoter in MM [25]. The gene discussed is EIF2AK3; the disease is plasma cell myeloma.