Notch signaling in development and disease

Emil M Hansson1, Urban Lendahl, Gavin Chapman

  • 1Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm SE-171 77, Sweden.

Insights

The Notch signaling pathway is a crucial conserved mechanism that helps cells interpret external signals for differentiation. This review provides an overview of Notch signaling in multicellular organisms.

Area of Science:

  • Cellular biology
  • Molecular signaling pathways

Background:

  • Multicellular organisms rely on extracellular cues for cellular responses like differentiation.
  • A conserved set of signaling pathways, including Notch, relay critical information between cells.
  • These pathways are essential for development and cellular decision-making.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To provide a comprehensive overview of the Notch signaling pathway.
  • To highlight the significance of Notch signaling in cellular communication and differentiation.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review of Notch signaling pathway research.
  • Analysis of conserved signaling mechanisms in multicellular organisms.

Main Results:

  • Notch signaling is a fundamental pathway involved in cell-cell communication.
  • It plays a vital role in cell differentiation and fate determination.
  • The pathway is highly conserved across species and utilized in diverse cell types.

Conclusions:

  • The Notch pathway is a key component of the conserved signaling network essential for multicellular life.
  • Understanding Notch signaling is critical for deciphering cellular responses to environmental cues.
  • Further exploration of Notch's role, particularly in cancer, is warranted (as discussed in accompanying articles).

Related Concept Videos

Notch Signaling Pathway03:14

Notch Signaling Pathway

The Notch signaling pathway is a major intracellular signaling pathway that is highly conserved over a broad spectrum of metazoan species. It stands unique from other intracellular signaling mechanisms in animals because notch protein itself acts as the receptor as well as the primary signaling molecule.
The Notch gene came into the limelight in 1914 after the discovery that its mutation in Drosophila melanogaster leads to a serrated (or "notched") wing margin phenotype. It was not until 1985...
Notch Signaling Pathway03:14

Notch Signaling Pathway

The Notch signaling pathway is a major intracellular signaling pathway that is highly conserved over a broad spectrum of metazoan species. It stands unique from other intracellular signaling mechanisms in animals because notch protein itself acts as the receptor as well as the primary signaling molecule.
The Notch gene came into the limelight in 1914 after the discovery that its mutation in Drosophila melanogaster leads to a serrated (or "notched") wing margin phenotype. It was not until 1985...
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Role Of Notch Signalling In Intestinal Stem Cell Renewal

Notch signaling was first discovered in Drosophila melanogaster, where it is involved in cell lineage differentiation. Notch signaling regulates the maintenance and differentiation of intestinal stem cells or ISCs by controlling the expression of atonal homolog 1 or Atoh1. Atoh1 directs cells to differentiate into secretory cells.
Direct cell-to-cell contact is needed for the activation of Notch signaling. The signal is initiated when a notch ligand binds to a receptor on an adjacent cell, also...
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