Signal Transduction and Gene Activation by STAT6

The ubiquitously expressed molecule Signal transducer and activator of transcription 6 (STAT6) is one of the key factors mediating the differentiationof T helper cells of type 2 (Th2) of the immune system, which are strongly associated with the development and maintenance of allergic diseases. The theoretical part of the present work sums up the current knowledge about STAT6 and reviews in detail the literature currently existing on this subject. In the practical part of this work, three original studies are presented, which demonstrate the identification of two novel target genes of STAT6, CC chemokine ligand 17/thymus activated and regulated chemokine (CCL17/TARC) and Suppressor of cytokine signaling-1 (SOCS-1), and explore the signal transduction components necessary to achieve full STAT6 activation.

Autorentext
Hebenstreit, Daniel, Daniel Hebenstreit was born on the 11th of March, 1977, in Zell am See, Austria, and studied Genetics and Mathematics at the University of Salzburg. From 2001 to 2005, he worked on his PhD theis on gene regulation processes in Th2 cells. Currently he holds a postdoctoral position at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, UK.