The upregulation of CC chemokine receptor 7 and the increased migration of maturing dendritic cells to macrophage inflammatory protein 3β and secondary lymphoid chemokine is mediated by the p38 stress‐activated protein kinase pathway

Summary. Using the p38 stress-activated protein kinase (p38SAPK) inhibitor, SB203580, increased responsiveness of monocyte-derived dendritic cells (MoDCs) to secondary lymphoid chemokine (SLC) and macrophage inflammatory protein 3β (MIP3β), following lipopolysaccharide-induced MoDC maturation, was shown to be mediated by the p38SAPK pathway. This was due to the complete abrogation of upregulation of CC chemokine receptor 7, the receptor for MIP3β/SLC. Once mature, MoDCs utilized both the p38SAPK and phosphoinositide-3 kinase pathways to migrate in response to SLC or MIP3β. These findings have implications for the mechanism of action of p38SAPK inhibitors, currently in use in clinical trials for patients with autoimmune diseases.