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Horm Metab Res 2016; 48(02): 77-82
DOI: 10.1055/s-0041-111699
Review
© Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York

STAT3-Ser/Hes3 Signaling: A New Molecular Component of the Neuroendocrine System?

P. Nikolakopoulou
1   Department of Internal Medicine III, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
,
S. W. Poser
1   Department of Internal Medicine III, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
,
J. Masjkur
1   Department of Internal Medicine III, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
,
M. Fernandez Rubin de Celis
1   Department of Internal Medicine III, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
,
L. Toutouna
1   Department of Internal Medicine III, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
,
C. L. Andoniadou
2   Department of Craniofacial Development and Stem Cell Biology, King’s College London, UK
,
R. D. McKay
3   Lieber Institute for Brain Development, Baltimore, USA
,
G. Chrousos
4   1st Department of Pediatrics, University of Athens Medical School, Athens, Aghia Sophia Children’s Hospital, Athens, Greece
,
M. Ehrhart-Bornstein
1   Department of Internal Medicine III, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
,
S. R. Bornstein
1   Department of Internal Medicine III, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
,
A. Androutsellis-Theotokis
1   Department of Internal Medicine III, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
5   Center for Regenerative Therapies Dresden, Dresden, Germany
6   Department of Stem Cell Biology, Centre for Biomolecular Sciences, Division of Cancer and Stem Cells, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
› Author Affiliations
Further Information

Publication History

received 03 November 2015

accepted 16 December 2015

Publication Date:
19 January 2016 (online)

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Abstract

The endocrine system involves communication among different tissues in distinct organs, including the pancreas and components of the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis. The molecular mechanisms underlying these complex interactions are a subject of intense study as they may hold clues for the progression and treatment of a variety of metabolic and degenerative diseases. A plethora of signaling pathways, activated by hormones and other endocrine factors have been implicated in this communication. Recent advances in the stem cell field introduce a new level of complexity: adult progenitor cells appear to utilize distinct signaling pathways than the more mature cells in the tissue they co-reside. It is therefore important to elucidate the signal transduction requirements of adult progenitor cells in addition to those of mature cells. Recent evidence suggests that a common non-canonical signaling pathway regulates adult progenitors in several different tissues, rendering it as a potentially valuable starting point to explore their biology. The STAT3-Ser/Hes3 Signaling Axis was first identified as a major regulator of neural stem cells and, subsequently, cancer stem cells. In the endocrine/neuroendocrine system, this pathway operates on several levels, regulating other types of plastic cells: (a) it regulates pancreatic islet cell function and insulin release; (b) insulin in turn activates the pathway in broadly distributed neural progenitors and possibly also hypothalamic tanycytes, cells with important roles in the control of the adrenal gland; (c) adrenal progenitors themselves operate this pathway. The STAT3-Ser/Hes3 Signaling Axis therefore deserves additional research in the context of endocrinology.

Key words

STAT3 - Hes3 - stem cells
 

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