Aaronson David S, Horvath Curt M
Department of Pharmacology and Biological Chemistry, Immunobiology Center, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY 10029 USA.
Science. 2002 May 31;296(5573):1653-5. doi: 10.1126/science.1071545.
The Janus kinase-signal transducer and activator of transcription (JAK-STAT) pathway transmits information received from extracellular polypeptide signals, through transmembrane receptors, directly to target gene promoters in the nucleus, providing a mechanism for transcriptional regulation without second messengers. Evolutionarily conserved in eukaryotic organisms from slime molds to humans, JAK-STAT signaling appears to be an early adaptation to facilitate intercellular communication that has co-evolved with myriad cellular signaling events. This co-evolution has given rise to highly adapted, ligand-specific signaling pathways that control gene expression. In addition, the JAK-STAT signaling pathways are regulated by a vast array of intrinsic and environmental stimuli, which can add plasticity to the response of a cell or tissue.
Janus激酶-信号转导及转录激活因子（JAK-STAT）信号通路可将通过跨膜受体从细胞外多肽信号接收的信息直接传递至细胞核中的靶基因启动子，提供一种无需第二信使的转录调控机制。从黏菌到人类的真核生物中，JAK-STAT信号通路在进化上是保守的，它似乎是一种早期适应性机制，以促进与无数细胞信号事件共同进化的细胞间通讯。这种共同进化产生了高度适应的、配体特异性的信号通路来控制基因表达。此外，JAK-STAT信号通路受到大量内在和环境刺激的调节，这可增加细胞或组织反应的可塑性。
