Viruses completely rely on the energy and metabolic systems of host cells for life activities. Viral infections usually lead to cytopathic effects and host diseases. To date, there are still no specific clinical vaccines or drugs against most viral infections. Therefore, understanding the molecular and cellular mechanisms of viral infections is of great significance to prevent and treat viral diseases. A variety of viral infections are related to the p38 MAPK signalling pathway, and p38 is an important host factor in virus-infected cells. Here, we introduce the different signalling pathways of p38 activation and then summarise how different viruses induce p38 phosphorylation. Finally, we provide a general summary of the effect of p38 activation on virus replication. Our review provides integrated data on p38 activation and viral infections and describes the potential application of targeting p38 as an antiviral strategy.

病毒的生命活动完全依赖宿主细胞的能量和代谢系统。病毒感染通常会导致细胞病变效应和宿主疾病。迄今为止，仍然没有针对大多数病毒感染的特异性临床疫苗或药物。因此，了解病毒感染的分子和细胞机制对于预防和治疗病毒性疾病具有重要意义。多种病毒感染都与p38 MAPK信号通路有关，而p38是病毒感染细胞中重要的宿主因子。在这里，我们介绍了 p38 激活的不同信号通路，然后总结了不同病毒如何诱导 p38 磷酸化。最后，我们概述了 p38 激活对病毒复制的影响。