The JAK/STAT pathway in obesity and diabetes

Diabetes mellitus are complex, multi‐organ metabolic pathologies characterized by hyperglycemia. Emerging evidence shows that the highly conserved and potent JAK/STAT signaling pathway is required for normal homeostasis, and, when dysregulated, contributes to the development of obesity and diabetes. In this review, we analyze the role of JAK/STAT activation in the brain, liver, muscle, fat and pancreas, and how this affects the course of the disease. We also consider the therapeutic implications of targeting the JAK/STAT pathway in treatment of obesity and diabetes. The knowledge accumulated in recent years enable us to describe the mechanisms by which different subcomponents of the JAK‐STAT signalling influence metabolic physiology, i.e. acting as regulators of food intake, liver steatosis, or immune‐mediated pancreatic β‐cell dysfunction and death. In this review, the “metabolic function” of JAK‐STAT proteins is discussed in depth and the role of these molecules in different cell types compared.