| Description |
The JAK/STAT cytokine signal pathway is controlled at multiple levels by a number of molecules and different means including a family of proteins termed suppressors of cytokine signalling (SOCS). SOCS family members are emerging as one of the most important feedback inhibitors of cytokine receptor signaling. The mammalian SOCS protein family consists of at least eight distinct members, SOCS1-7 and cytokine-inducible SH2-containing protein (CIS), that share a common structure including a N-terminal region highly variable in length and primary sequence, a central Src Homology 2 (SH2) domain, and a C-terminal SOCS box. Functional analyses in genetically modified mice, whose SOCS proteins are over-expressed or deleted, have demonstrated that the SOCS family members have indispensable roles in immune responses Also, there is increasing evidence that SOCS family was involved in the pathogenesis of many diseases, such as hepatitis-induced carcinogenesis, myeloid leukaemia and the metabolic sy
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