ERK 1/2 is entitled an intriguing name, the reperfusion injury salvage kinase (RISK), which confers cardioprotection during myocardial reperfusion (Hausenloy and Yellon, 2007).By the way, the mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP) opens in the first few minutes after myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury, and ERK1/2 pathway, considered to regulate mitochondrial permeability transition thereby inhibiting cysteinyl aspartate specific proteinase (Caspase) activation, is protective for cardiac function (Xie et al., 2014). Here, MAPK3 is linked to myocardial ischemia.