The CIS/SOCS proteins: a family of cytokine-inducible regulators of signaling

This review describes the main properties of a new family of cytokine-inducible proteins which interfere with the Jak/Stat transduction pathway and negatively regulate the duration of cytokine-induced signal activation. These proteins act not only as negative feedback regulators but also inhibit response to cytokines different from those used to induce their expression. These proteins are potentially important regulators of inflammatory and immune responses of hematopoiesis and hormone response.