The p38 MAPK/MSK1/NF-κB axis in chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome: a testable hypothesis for innate immune inflammatory amplification

Abstract

Background Chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS) is a heterogeneous clinical syndrome that includes NIH category IIIA (inflammatory) and IIIB (noninflammatory) presentations, with pelvic pain, urinary symptoms, sexual dysfunction, and variable immune findings. Aim To evaluate whether a p38 MAPK/MSK1/NF-κB network could amplify innate immune signaling in an immune-active subset of CP/CPPS. Evidence synthesis Human evidence for coordinated p38, MSK1, and NF-κB activation in CP/CPPS is currently incomplete. p38 MAPK and NF-κB findings from prostatitis models and prostate-cell experiments provide disease-relevant support, whereas most MSK1, chromatin, mitochondrial-DAMP, and long-term inflammatory-memory links are extrapolated from non-prostatic inflammatory systems. MSK1 is activated by both p38 and ERK1/2 and has anti-inflammatory MSK1/2–DUSP1/IL-10 feedback functions; p65 Ser276 is one regulatory checkpoint among several NF-κB controls. Conclusions The proposed MSK1-dependent amplification loop is a testable hypothesis rather than a demonstrated CP/CPPS mechanism. Patient-tissue phosphoproteomics, cell-resolved transcriptomics and ATAC-seq, and phenotype-stratified intervention studies are needed before therapeutic claims can be made. No proposed p38, MSK1, Nrf2, NOX, or NLRP3 strategy currently has established clinical efficacy in CP/CPPS.

The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Frontiers in Immunology, 2026 · DOI ↗