JAK-STAT pathway and myogenic differentiation

Abstract

Myogenic differentiation plays an important role in muscle regeneration and is regulated by two transcription factor families, MRFs and MEF2, which induce differentiation of myoblasts through expression of the muscle-specific gene, myogenin. In addition, many intracellular signaling pathways are also involved in myogenic differentiation, including p38 MAPK, ERK/MAPK and PI3K/AKT. The JAK-STAT pathway is activated by various cytokines and positively or negatively regulates the differentiation of myoblasts. JAK1 plays a notable role in proliferation; whereas, JAK2 and JAK3 function mainly in differentiation. The STATs, molecules downstream of JAK, regulate myogenesis. With JAK1, STAT1 promotes proliferation, while STAT3 has a dual effect on proliferation and differentiation. The JAK-STAT negative regulator, SOCS, is also associated with myogenesis; although, its role is controversial. In this review, we will discuss the role of the JAK-STAT pathway on myogenic differentiation.

Keywords: :

• JAK1
• JAK2
• JAK3
• STAT1
• STAT2
• STAT3
• SOCS
• myogenic differentiation

Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest

No potential conflicts of interest were disclosed.

Acknowledgments

This work was supported NRF funded by the MEST (2012011417), (20110002759) and KOSEF through Chronic Inflammatory Disease Research Center (2012051428).