MAPK8 and inflammatory bowel disease: Increased expression of phosphorylated ERK, JNK, and p38 have been observed in the intestinal mucosa of active IBD patients (Waetzig et al., 2002), and treatment with MAPK inhibitors could ameliorate the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines in animal models and isolated colonic tissues (Waetzig et al., 2002; Hollenbach et al., 2004; Assi et al., 2006).