p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling is a key mediator of inflammation, being a critical mediator of cell responses to cytokines and MAPK signaling has been widely implicated in the pathogenesis of stroke (Sun and Nan, 2016), although the specific upstream and downstream mechanisms remain unclarified, and different brain tissue types are marked by varying MAPK signaling patterns after ischemic stroke (Sawe et al., 2008). The gene discussed is MAPK14; the disease is ischemic stroke.