Notch signaling and neural connectivity

The cell surface receptor Notch contributes to the development of nearly every tissue in most metazoans by controlling the fates and differentiation of cells. Recent results have now established that Notch also regulates the connectivity of the nervous system, and does so at a variety of levels, including specification of neuronal identity, division, survival and migration, as well as axon guidance, morphogenesis of dendritic arbors and weighting of synapse strength. To these ends, Notch engages at least two signal transduction pathways, one that controls nuclear gene expression and another that directly targets the cytoskeleton. Coordinating the many functions of Notch to produce neural structure is thus a pivotal aspect of building and maintaining the nervous system.