**About the Editors**

**Ana Cuenda** (PhD) is Principal Investigator at Centro Nacional de Biotecnolog´ıa—CSIC. She holds a BSc in biology and a PhD in Biochemistry from Universidad de Extremadura. After postdoctoral training and staff scientist positions in the MRC Phosphorylation unit at Dundee University (UK), she established her research group at the Department of Immunology and Oncology in CNB, where she has been the director since 2012. Her work is focused on studying the functions of alternative p38kinases, a field where she has made seminal contributions. Her current interest is the analysis of the role of p38MAPK in inflammation and cancer.

**Juan Jos ´e Sanz-Ezquerro** (PhD) is Principal Investigator at Centro Nacional de Biotecnolog´ıa —CSIC. He holds a BSc in Molecular Biology and a PhD in Virology from Universidad Autonoma de ´ Madrid. After postdoctoral training in Developmental Biology in the UK, he established his group in Spain, working at CNB and Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC) on different aspects of organogenesis. His current interests include the analysis of signaling pathways during embryonic development and the interplay between inflammation and regeneration, including the role of p38 signaling in those processes.

## **Preface to "P38 Signaling Pathway"**

p38 Mitogen activated protein kinases (p38MAPK) are a group of evolutionary conserved protein kinases which are central for cell adaptation to environmental changes as well as for immune response, inflammation, tissue regeneration and tumour formation. The interest in this group of protein kinases has grown continually since their discovery. Recent studies using new genetic and pharmacological tools are providing helpful information on the function of these stress-activated protein kinases and show that they have an acute impact on the development of prevalent diseases related to inflammation, diabetes, neurodegeneration, and cancer.

In this Special Issue we present novel advances and review the knowledge on the identification of p38MAPK substrates, functions, and regulation; mechanisms underlying the role of p38MAPK in malignant transformation and other pathologies; and therapeutic opportunities associated with regulation of p38MAPK activity.

This issue will be of interest to basic researchers working in cell signalling and immunology, to chemical biologists interested in drug discovery and also to clinicians interested in cell signalling pathways.

> **Ana Cuenda, Juan Jos´e Sanz-Ezquerro** *Editors*
