Publications

The JAK/STAT signalling pathway has been implicated in the pathogenesis of several inflammatory diseases including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). In this review, Coskun et al. provide an excellent background overview of the JAK/STAT cascade. They also highlight recent study findings investigating the mechanisms of the JAK/STAT pathway and the anti-inflammatory effects of novel JAK inhibitors in development and in clinical trials, particularly in IBD. In one study, tofacitinib, a JAK1/3 inhibitor, demonstrated efficacy in the treatment of IBD with 48% of patients (p<0.001) achieving clinical remission with 10 mg tofacitinib, while in another trial the results were not as positive. Novel JAK inhibitors have the potential to benefit patients with IBD and other chronic inflammatory disorders which share similar inflammatory cytokine pathways.