This finding, along with the observed reduction in MAPK14 activity in MRTFA-deficient VSMC cells, supports a novel positive feedback loop between MRTFA and MAPK14 in driving VSMC degeneration and AAA formation.19 Through a series of in vitro experiments, we demonstrated that MAPK14 stabilizes MRTFA by preventing ubiquitin proteasome degradation mediated by USP10, an understudied deubiquitinase in VSMCs. This evidence concerns the gene MRTFA and triple-A syndrome.