Negative regulation of the JAK/STAT pathway

Radiation hybrid and cytogenetic mapping of SOCS1 and SOCS2 to chromosomes 16p13 and 12q, respectively

Suppressor of cytokine signaling (SOCS) proteins are involved in the negative regulation of cytokine-induced STAT (signal transducers and activators of transcription) factor signaling. We cloned genomic regions of SOCS1 and SOCS2 genes and mapped these genes to chromosome 16p12-p13.1 and chromosome 12q21.3-q23 regions, respectively, by cytogenetic and radiation hybrid mapping. In addition, we mapped SOCS2 by yeast artificial chromosome (YAC) pool screening to YAC contig WC 12.5 on chromosome 12 with an unambiguous hit to CHLC.ATA19H12 and WI-5940, which is 461.5 cR from the top of the map.

Cytokine signal transduction in P19 embryonal carcinoma cells: regulation of Stat3-mediated transactivation occurs independently of p21ras-Erk signaling

Ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) and leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF) are members of a subfamily of related cytokines that share gp130 as common signal-transducing receptor component. CNTF has recently been demonstrated to induce increased survival and neuronal differentiation of P19 embryonal carcinoma (EC) cells; however, the molecular mechanisms underlying these effects are still elusive. Here we report that CNTF and LIF, but not interleukin-6, activated signal transducers and activators of transcription (STAT)-reporter constructs in P19 EC cells. Supershift analysis revealed that the STAT-element binding complex contained the transcription factor Stat3. Binding of Stat3 was inhibited by protein tyrosine kinase inhibitors, but not by the broad serine/threonine protein kinase inhibitor, H7. However, H7 inhibited CNTF-induced Stat3 transactivation. Using a dominant-negative p21ras construct and a specific inhibitor of mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (MEK; PD098059) we demonstrated that CNTF-induced Stat3 transactivation was independent of the p21ras-mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway, while CNTF-induced MAPK activation was p21ras- and MEK-dependent. Taken together, our results demonstrate the activation of the p21ras-MAPK and STAT signal transduction pathways in response to CNTF and LIF in P19 EC cells and reveal that there is no modulating crosstalk between these pathways. Furthermore, our data suggest that CNTF- and LIF-induced Stat3 activation in P19 EC cells involves an H7-sensitive p21ras/MAPK- and Ca(2+)-independent kinase.

Inhibition of host cell signal transduction by Leishmania: observations relevant to the selective impairment of IL-12 responses

Leishmania parasites are able to delay the onset of cell-mediated immunity by selectively impairing the ability of infected macrophages to produce interleukin (IL)-12. Leishmania infection arrests the JAK/STAT-mediated signal transduction involved in activation of the IL-12 p40 promoter; the phosphorylation defects may be initiated by ligation of the phagocyte receptors used by these organisms to gain entry into the host cell.