RESEARCH ARTICLE


JAK Kinases in Health and Disease: An Update



Arian Laurence1, Marko Pesu2, 3, Olli Silvennoinen2, 3, John O’Shea*, 1
1 Molecular Immunology and Inflammation Branch, National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA
2 Institute of Biomedical Technology, FI-33014 University of Tampere, Finland
3 Centre for Laboratory Medicine, FI-33520 Tampere University Hospital, Finland


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Creative Commons License
© Laurence et al.; Licensee Bentham Open.

open-access license: This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted, non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited.

* Address correspondence to this author at the Molecular Immunology and Inflammation Branch, National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA; Tel: +1 301-496-2612; Fax: +1 301-480-6372; E-mail: osheajo@mail.nih.gov


Abstract

Janus kinases (Jaks) are critical signaling elements for a large subset of cytokines. As a consequence they play pivotal roles in the patho-physiology of many diseases including neoplastic and autoimmune diseases. Small molecule Jak inhibitors as therapeutic agents have become a reality and the palette of such inhibitors will likely expand. This review will summarize our current knowledge on these key enzymes and their associated pharmaceutical inhibitors.

Keywords: : Jak, tyrosine kinase, kinase inhibitors, autoimunity, myelofibrosis, cancer, cytokine signaling..