Excitingly, we have observed that the regulation of apoptosis induction during arenavirus infection is controlled by the phosphorylation of specific pro-apoptotic factors (i.e., Bad and p53 phosphorylation (Figure 1) [17], clearly suggesting a role for kinase activation in this process, and also suggesting other possible links to host cell responses important for the outcome of viral infection and pathogenesis (Figure 5). This evidence concerns the gene TP53 and Arenaviridae infectious disease.