Leeman Rebecca J, Lui Vivian Wai Yan, Grandis Jennifer Rubin
Department of Otolaryngology, The Eye and Ear Institute, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.
Expert Opin Biol Ther. 2006 Mar;6(3):231-41. doi: 10.1517/14712598.6.3.231.
The signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) proteins relay signals from cytokine receptors and receptor tyrosine kinases on the cell surface to the nucleus, where they affect the transcription of genes involved in normal cell functions, including growth, apoptosis and differentiation. STAT3 has been found to be constitutively active in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) as well as in other epithelial malignancies. In HNSCC, STAT3 alters the cell cycle, prevents apoptosis, and mediates the proliferation and survival of tumour cells. Several therapeutic approaches are being developed to target STAT3, including molecules that block either dimerisation or DNA binding by STAT3, strategies to decrease STAT3 expression and drugs that inhibit STAT3 function. Strategies that block STAT3 may prove efficacious for cancer treatment.
信号转导与转录激活因子（STAT）蛋白将细胞表面细胞因子受体和受体酪氨酸激酶传来的信号传递至细胞核，在细胞核中，它们影响参与正常细胞功能（包括生长、凋亡和分化）的基因转录。已发现STAT3在头颈部鳞状细胞癌（HNSCC）以及其他上皮性恶性肿瘤中持续激活。在HNSCC中，STAT3改变细胞周期、阻止凋亡，并介导肿瘤细胞的增殖和存活。目前正在研发几种靶向STAT3的治疗方法，包括阻断STAT3二聚化或DNA结合的分子、降低STAT3表达的策略以及抑制STAT3功能的药物。阻断STAT3的策略可能对癌症治疗有效。
