Mitogen-activated protein kinase activation by oxidative and bacterial stress in an amphibian cell culture model.

The decline of many amphibian species could be caused by their susceptibility to environmental pollutants that cause cellular stress and cell death. A variety of intracellular signal transduction pathways are activated by environmental stress factors, which result in cell death. Mitogen-activated protein kinases are intracellular signaling molecules that include the extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERK-1 and ERK-2).