MAPK8 and cancer: Consequently, activated TAK1, in turn, phosphorylates downstream substrates in order to initiate the NF-kB and MAPKs (i.e. ERK, p38 MAPK, and JNK) signaling pathways, thereby participates in cellular inflammation, immune response, fibrosis, cell death, and cancer cell invasion and metastasis (Yang et al., 2022; Zhou et al., 2021).