“…In contrast, Stat3 may have promitogenic and antiapoptotic effects and has been implicated in malignant transformation in some cells (Bromberg et al, 1999;Song and Rubin Grandis, 2000). Stat5a and Stat5b in hematopoietic cells seem to promote growth, inhibit apoptosis, and may be involved in malignant transformation (Matsumura et al, 1999;Nosaka et al, 1999;Demoulin et al, 2000), and are also essential mediators of the effects of prolactin (PRL) and growth hormone (GH) as well as IL-2 and other cytokines (Groner and Gouilleux, 1995;Grimley et al, 1999;Moriggl et al, 1999;Herrington et al, 2000;Lin and Leonard, 2000). However, although STAT proteins in some cells have been found to be phosphorylated and activated in response to growth factors, including EGF (Ruff-Jamison et al, 1993Richer et al, 1998;Guren et al, 1999;Luetteke et al, 1999;Olayioye et al, 1999), PDGF (Valgeirsdottir et al, 1998;Sachsenmaier et al, 1999), and VEGF (Bartoli et al, 2000), their exact function in receptor tyrosine kinase signaling has not been defined, and the role of STAT proteins in EGF receptor-mediated mitogenic mechanisms is not known.…”