Lecture 13 - therapy resistance

Question 1

Describe what STATs are

Answer 1

STATs are txn factors that stay latent in cytoplasm until activated by receptors for growth factors (e.g. EGF) or cytokines (e.g. IL-6)
ligands trigger Tyr phosphn of receptors, creating a docking site for STATs
receptors or associated Janus kinases (JAKs) phosphorylate STATs on Tyr
Tyr-phosphorylated STATs dimerise, enter nucleus & activate transcription
constitutive actn of STAT3 occurs in many cancer types – can reflect activating mutns in STAT3 itself or upstream e.g. JAKs or EGFR
often correlates with poor prognosis