Walter & Eliza Hall Institute; Proteins that inhibit cytokine signal transduction described
Posted on: Thursday, 26 February 2004, 06:00 CST
2004 MAR 3 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Researchers describe the proteins that inhibit cytokine signal transduction inn a recent issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry.
"Cytokines are secreted proteins that regulate diverse biological functions by binding to receptors at the cell surface to activate complex signal transduction pathways including the Janus kinase- signal transducer and activator of transcription (JAK-STAT) pathway. Stringent mechanisms of signal attenuation are essential for ensuring an appropriate, controlled cellular response. Three families of proteins, the SH2-containing phosphatases (SHP), the protein inhibitors of activated STATs (PIAS), and the suppressors of cytokine signaling (SOCS), inhibit specific and distinct aspects of cytokine signal transduction," scientists writing in the Journal of Biological Chemistry report.
"The analysis of mice lacking genes for members of the SHP and SOCS families has shed much light on the roles of these proteins in vivo," said Samuel Wormald and Douglas J. Hilton at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research in Australia. "In recent in vitro studies, the protein modifiers ubiquitin and SUMO (small ubiquitin-like modifier) have emerged as key players in the strategies employed by SOCS and PIAS to repress signaling."
Wormald and Hilton published their study in the Journal of Biological Chemistry (Inhibitors of cytokine signal transduction. J Biol Chem, 2004;279(2):821-824).
Additional information can be obtained by contacting Samuel Wormald, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, 1G Royal Parade, Parkville, Victoria 3050, Australia. E-mail: wormald@wehi.edu.au.
The publisher of the Journal of Biological Chemistry can be contacted at: American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Inc., 9650 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20814-3996, USA.
The information in this article comes under the major subject areas of Cytokines, Protein Signals, and Proteomics.
This article was prepared by Biotech Week editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2004, Biotech Week via NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net.
Related Articles
- Scientists Have Found A Way To Treat Ischemic Pathologies
- Protein Can Protect Neurons In Brain From Damage Due To Inflammation
- University Researchers Identify Inflammatory Disease Gatekeeper
- CWD Proteins Survive in Soil
- Journal Challenges Aust Scientist's Diet
- The role of Type II Collagen in rheumatoid arthritis
- Scientists uncover new clues to how crucial molecular gatekeepers work
- Insight into our sight: A new view on the evolution of the eye lens
- Posters: Signal Transduction (Not Insulin Action)-Cytokines and Apoptosis
- Critical Role of Viral Protein R in HIV Pathogenesis is Explored in Special Issue of DNA and Cell Biology
 |
 |
User Comments (0)
RSS Feeds