Description
JAK1 is a human tyrosine kinase protein essential for signaling for certain type I and type II cytokines.
It interacts with the common gamma chain (γc) of type I cytokine receptors, to elicit signals from the IL-2 receptor family (e.g.
IL-2R, IL-7R, IL-9R and IL-15R), the IL-4 receptor family (e.g.
IL-4R and IL-13R), the gp130 receptor family (e.g.
IL-6R, IL-11R, LIF-R, OSM-R, cardiotrophin-1 receptor (CT-1R), ciliary neurotrophic factor receptor (CNTF-R), neurotrophin-1 receptor (NNT-1R) and Leptin-R).
Jak1 plays a critical role in initiating responses to multiple major cytokine receptor families.
Expression of JAK1 in cancer cells enables individual cells to contract, potentially allowing them to escape their tumor and metastasize to other parts of the body