Future Trends

Abstract

In the preceding chapters we focused upon the essential elements of the JAK-STAT pathway; the molecules themselves; the order of events by which these molecules are recruited for the transmission of cytokine dependent signals; and the structural modules (SH2 domains, PTK domains etc.) that coordinate the protein-protein interactions which underpin these signal transduction processes. While a number of gaps in this story need to be filled in, the most pressing questions relate to the integration of the JAK-STAT pathway into the network of pathways by which cells coordinate their physiological responses to extracellular stimuli. In this final chapter, we will attempt to show how the JAK-STAT pathway is likely to become integrated into the overall fabric of the cellular signal transduction network.