| First Author | Maritano D | Year | 2004 |
| Journal | Nat Immunol | Volume | 5 |
| Issue | 4 | Pages | 401-9 |
| PubMed ID | 15021879 | Mgi Jnum | J:89194 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:3039055 | Doi | 10.1038/ni1052 |
| Citation | Maritano D, et al. (2004) The STAT3 isoforms alpha and beta have unique and specific functions. Nat Immunol 5(4):401-9 |
| abstractText | Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) is the main mediator of interleukin 6 (IL-6)-type cytokine signaling. It exists in two isoforms: the full-length STAT3 alpha and the truncated STAT3 beta, generally thought to act as a dominant negative factor. To assess their relative functions, we ablated the expression of either isoform by gene targeting. We show here that in vivo STAT3 beta is not a dominant negative factor. Its expression can rescue the embryonic lethality of a STAT3-null mutation and it can by itself induce the expression of specific STAT3 target genes. Nevertheless, STAT3 alpha has nonredundant roles such as modulation of cellular responses to IL-6 and mediation of IL-10 function in macrophages. |
