In experimental models of disease, the carotenoid astaxanthin has been shown to modulate autophagy by regulating signaling pathways, including the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), cellular homolog of murine thymoma virus akt8 oncogene (Akt), and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), such as c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and p38.
Previous studies have also demonstrated that downregulation of Emp affects the expression of mitogen-associated protein kinase 1 (MAPK1) and thymoma viral protooncogene (AKT-1) resulting in abnormal cell motility.