The role of the JAK-STAT pathway in neural stem cells, neural progenitor cells and reactive astrocytes after spinal cord injury

Patients with spinal cord injuries can develop severe neurological damage and dysfunction, which is not only induced by primary but also by secondary injuries. As an evolutionarily conserved pathway of eukaryotes, the JAK-STAT pathway is associated with cell growth, survival, development and differentiation; activation of the JAK-STAT pathway has been previously reported in central nervous system injury. The JAK-STAT pathway is directly associated with neurogenesis and glia scar formation in the injury region. Following injury of the axon, the overexpression and activation of STAT3 is exhibited specifically in protecting neurons. To investigate the role of the JAK-STAT pathway in neuroprotection, we summarized the effect of JAK-STAT pathway in the following three sections: Firstly, the modulation of JAK-STAT pathway in proliferation and differentiation of neural stem cells and neural progenitor cells is discussed; secondly, the time-dependent effect of JAK-STAT pathway in reactive astrocytes to reveal their capability of neuroprotection is revealed and lastly, we focus on how the astrocyte-secretory polypeptides (astrocyte-derived cytokines and trophic factors) accomplish neuroprotection via the JAK-STAT pathway.