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The Arrival of JAK Inhibitors: Advancing the Treatment of Immune and Hematologic Disorders

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Abstract

Altered production of cytokines can result in pathologies ranging from autoimmune diseases to malignancies. The Janus kinase family is a small group of receptor-associated signaling molecules that is essential to the signal cascade originating from type I and type II cytokine receptors. Inhibition of tyrosine kinase enzymatic activity using small molecules has recently become a powerful tool for treatment of several malignancies. Twenty years after the discovery of these enzymes, two inhibitors for this class of kinases have been approved for clinical use and others are currently in the final stage of development. Here we review the principles of cytokines signaling, summarize our current knowledge of the approved inhibitors, and briefly introduce some of the inhibitors that are currently under development.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the following individuals for critical reading of the manuscript: Dr. Kiyoshi Hirahara, Dr. Giuseppe Sciumè, Ms. Kathryn Davis, and Dr. Jonathan Mallett.

Disclosure

NIAMS have a Collaborative Research Agreement and Development Agreement (CRADA) with Pfizer.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Translational Immunology Section, Office of Science and Technology, National Institute of Arthritis Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20895, USA

    Yasuko Furumoto & Massimo Gadina

  2. Building 10, Room 6D47-A, 10 Center Drive, Bethesda, MD, 20892-1560, USA

    Massimo Gadina

Authors
  1. Yasuko Furumoto
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  2. Massimo Gadina
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Correspondence to Massimo Gadina.

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Furumoto, Y., Gadina, M. The Arrival of JAK Inhibitors: Advancing the Treatment of Immune and Hematologic Disorders. BioDrugs 27, 431–438 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40259-013-0040-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40259-013-0040-7

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