MAPK3 and cancer: ,142 The precise mechanisms by which adiponectin exerts its anti-cancer effects are still under investigation, but it is thought to deactivate key signaling pathways involved in tumor growth, such as mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) kinases 1 and 3, as well as extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1 and 2 (ERK1/2).223