Kay-Uwe Wagner, PhD
Lloyd and Marilyn Smith Endowed Chair for Breast Cancer Research, Leader of the Tumor Biology and Microenvironment Program, Barbara Ann Karmanos Comprehensive Cancer Center, and Professor of Oncology, Wayne State University School of Medicine

“The Janus kinase 1 is critical for pancreatic cancer initiation and progression”

Abstract

More than 50 cytokines and peptide hormones signal through Janus Kinases (JAKs) and Signal Transducers and Activators of Transcription (STATs). JAK1 and JAK2 are ubiquitously expressed Janus Kinases, but our studies in genetically engineered models show that they have discrete biological functions and non-redundant roles in the activation of STAT proteins. Recent work from our team demonstrates that JAK1, and not JAK2 as generally believed, is the crucial tyrosine kinase that activates STAT3 and STAT1 in response to IL6-class inflammatory cytokine signaling during normal development and in cancer (e.g. breast and pancreatic cancer).