Selective p38α MAP kinase/MAPK14 inhibition in enzymatically modified LDL-stimulated human monocytes: implications for atherosclerosis.

The first ATP-competitive p38α MAPK/MAPK14 inhibitor with excellent in vivo efficacy and selectivity, skepinone-L, is now available. We investigated the impact of selective p38α MAPK/MAPK14 inhibition on enzymatically modified LDL (eLDL) stimulated human monocytes with its implications for atherosclerosis. Among the different p38 MAPK isoforms, p38α/MAPK14 was the predominantly expressed and activated isoform in isolated human peripheral blood monocytes.