MAPK3 and hepatocellular carcinoma: Interestingly, the silencing of STK25 in Hep3B cells decreased the activation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs), extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2), and Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), which are key signaling components promoting proliferation and migration in human HCC,35, 36, 37 whereas the phosphorylation status of p38 MAPK remained unaffected (Figure 21).