The JAK/STAT pathway and Drosophila development

The JAK/STAT signal transduction pathway plays a critical role in mammalian cells, particularly in hematopoiesis and immune responses. Several compone nts of this pathway have been identified and characterized in Drosophila. M utational analyses of these components have revealed a number of interestin g developmental roles, and provide a mechanism to identify other interactin g molecules and pathways. Hence, the JAK/STAT pathway in Drosophila serves as an attractive model for in vivo functional analyses of JAK/STAT signalin g. (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.