Clinical significance and regulation of ERK5 expression and function in cancer

Extracellular signal-regulated kinase 5 (ERK5) is a unique kinase among MAPKs family members given its large structure characterized by the presence of a unique C-terminal domain. Despite increasingly data demonstrated the relevance of ERK5 pathway in the growth, survival, and differentiation of normal cells, ERK5 has recently attracted the attention of several research groups given its relevance in inflammatory disorders and cancer. Accumulating evidence reported its role in tumor initiation and progression. In this review, we explore the gene expression profile of ERK5 among cancers correlated with its clinical impact, as well as the prognostic value of ERK5 and pERK5 expression levels in tumors. We also summarize the importance of ERK5 in the maintenance of a cancer stem-like phenotype and explore the major known contributions of ERK5 in tumor-associated microenvironment. Moreover, although several questions are still open about ERK5 molecular regulation, different ERK5 isoforms derived from alternative splicing process are also described, highlighting the potential clinical relevance of targeting ERK5 pathways.