Notably, TTP is implicated in the development of COPD as, in COPD patients, an increase in phosphorylated p38 MAPK-positive cells in the alveolar region activates the inflammatory pathway via p38 MAPK, which, facilitated by MAPK kinase 2 (MK2), phosphorylates and subsequently inactivates TTP [21]. This evidence concerns the gene ZFP36 and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.