Requirement of p38 stress-activated MAP kinase for cell death in the developing retina depends on the stage of cell differentiation

The p38 members of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) superfamily are activated by both environmental stress and endogenous signals, and may have either permissive or inhibitory roles upon both cell proliferation and cell death in the retina. We have previously shown that anisomycin, a protein synthesis inhibitor, and 2-aminopurine, a specific inhibitor of the double stranded-RNA dependent protein kinase, block apoptosis of ganglion …