Cellular Responses to Interferons and Other Cytokines: The JAK–STAT Paradigm

Recently, two rare genetic disorders have been linked to abnormalities in a novel cytokine-signaling mechanism, and the growth of leukemia cells was shown to be inhibited by selective blockade of this mechanism.13 The details of this signaling mechanism have emerged only within the past five years, yet it has already been the subject of more than 1000 scientific reports and promises to have many clinical applications. The discovery of this pathway was a serendipitous outcome of research on interferon.Twenty years ago interferon was the avatar of the biotechnology revolution, but interest in this cytokine dimmed when its promise . . .