The seven members of the mammalian signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) family participate in a wide range of biological processes with impact both on the generation and the functional regulation of cells involved in antimicrobial immunity. Activation of STATs is a hallmark of...

The stability and commitment of T-helper cells is controlled by three factors; the cytokines present in the microenvironment, the acquisition and/or downregulation of cytokine receptors on the surface of the T‑cell and heritable chromatin remodeling of subset specific genes. STAT proteins,...

The JAK‑STAT (Janus Kinases‑Signal Transducers and Activators of Transcription) intracellular signal transduction pathway plays a critical role in many human disease scenarios and especially in multiple aspects of the response of the myocardium to various cardiac insults. The JAK‑STAT...

Suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS) proteins have been identified as key negative regulators of cytokine and growth factor signaling. Therefore, given the diverse roles played by cytokines and growth factors in development and disease, it is not surprising that the SOCS proteins themselves...

As cancer continues to cause over 500,000 deaths per year in the United States alone, it is clear that the cytotoxic drugs commonly in use for cancer treatment are not adequately effective. As we have increased our understanding of the molecular abnormalities in cancer cells, the opportunity...

The transcription factors Stat5a and Stat5b are crucial gene regulators for all hematopoietic cell types. Stat5 proteins play essential roles in hematopoietic stem cell maintenance as well as lineage commitment. Mutations in upstream molecules involved in controlling Stat5 activity are frequently...

The transcription factors STAT1 and STAT3 appear to play opposite roles in tumorigenesis. While STAT3 promotes cell survival/proliferation, motility and immune tolerance and is considered as an oncogene, STAT1 enhances inflammation and innate and adaptive immunity, triggering in most instances...

Although the exact pathogenic mechanisms in inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) still remain unclear, increasing evidence has implicated proinflammatory cytokines and their related transcription factors as crucial mediators of the inflammatory reaction. It has been shown that cytokine signaling...

Drosophila melanogaster is a developmentally and genetically highly tractable animal model and many significant advances in the field of signal transduction have been made and elucidated in this system. One example is the JAK/STAT cascade-a pathway conserved throughout evolution and present as a...

The signal transducers and activators of transcription (STATs) are a family of transcription factors which were originally identified on the basis of their ability to transduce a signal from a cellular receptor into the nucleus and modulate the transcription of specific genes. More recent studies...

The level of transcription factor activity critically regulates cell fate decisions such as hematopoietic stem cell self‑renewal and differentiation. The balance between hematopoietic stem cell self‑renewal and differentiation needs to be tightly controlled, as a shift towards differentiation...

The STAT family of proteins is comprised of seven transcription factors that have diverse roles in tissue homeostasis, differentiation and immune function. The Jak/Stat signaling pathway is frequently dysregulated in tumors of the haematopoietic system and in solid tumors of many tissue types....