The role of Notch in patterning the human vertebral column

Sally L Dunwoodie1

  • 1Developmental Biology Division, Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute, 405 Liverpool Street, Darlinghurst, NSW 2010 Sydney, Australia. s.dunwoodie@victorchang.edu.au <s.dunwoodie@victorchang.edu.au>

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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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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.
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