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Related Concept Videos

Notch Signaling Pathway03:14

Notch Signaling Pathway

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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...
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Role Of Notch Signalling In Intestinal Stem Cell Renewal01:12

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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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Contact-dependent Signaling01:19

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Contact-dependent signaling, as the name suggests, requires that communicating cells be in direct contact with each other. This is achieved either through receptor-ligand interactions or by specialized cytoplasmic channels that allow the flow of small molecules between cells. In animal cells, channels called gap junctions facilitate contact-dependent signaling in certain tissues, whereas, plasmodesmata perform a similar function in plants.
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Cell-matrix's Response to Mechanical Forces01:13

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In animal cells, the extracellular matrix allows cells within tissues to withstand external stresses and transmits signals from the outside of the cell to the inside. The extracellular matrix is extensive, and its composition varies between different types of tissues. For example, the reticular fibers and ground substance make up the ECM in loose connective tissue, while collagen and bone minerals make up the ECM of bone tissue. 
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Cadherins in Tissue Organization01:19

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The cadherins are a superfamily of cell adhesion molecules comprising over 180 variants, with specific tissues expressing a particular combination of cadherin types. Cadherins generally exhibit homophilic binding; i.e., cadherins on one cell bind to cadherins of the same or closely related type on another cell. Thus, cells of the same type have a specific affinity to bind to each other and sort themselves into clusters to form tissues.
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Blebs are a type of membrane protrusion formed by the internal hydrostatic pressure of the cytoplasm. Blebs are observed in several cell types, including fibroblasts, immune cells, and single-celled organisms like the amoeba. The primary function of blebs is cell locomotion and apoptosis, but they are also found during necrosis and cell division. The life cycle of a bleb comprises an initiation phase followed by the expansion and retraction phases.
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In Vitro Reconstitution of Spatial Cell Contact Patterns with Isolated Caenorhabditis elegans Embryo Blastomeres and Adhesive Polystyrene Beads
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Cell-Cell Contact Area Affects Notch Signaling and Notch-Dependent Patterning.

Oren Shaya1, Udi Binshtok1, Micha Hersch2

  • 1Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Wise Faculty of Life Science, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, 69978, Israel.

Developmental Cell
|March 16, 2017
PubMed
Summary

Cell contact area influences cell communication and fate. Smaller cells with less contact area are more likely to become signal-producing cells, as seen in chick inner ear development.

Keywords:
Notch signalingcell morphologycell-cell contactinner earlateral inhibitionlive cell imaging

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Area of Science:

  • Cell biology
  • Developmental biology
  • Biophysics

Background:

  • Cell morphology changes significantly during development, potentially impacting cell-cell communication.
  • Notch signaling is crucial for coordinating cell fates through direct cell-cell interactions.
  • The precise relationship between cell contact geometry and signaling strength remains largely unexplored.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate whether and how cell signaling, specifically Notch signaling, depends on contact geometry.
  • To determine the correlation between cell contact area and signaling efficiency.
  • To explore the implications of contact geometry-dependent signaling on cellular differentiation processes.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized micropatterning techniques to control cell-cell contact geometry.
  • Employed a receptor trans-endocytosis assay to quantify cell-cell signaling.
  • Integrated mathematical modeling to predict the effects of signaling dependence on contact area.
  • Analyzed cell morphology in developing chick inner ear tissue.

Main Results:

  • Cellular signaling strength was found to correlate directly with the contact area between paired cells.
  • This correlation was observed across a range of contact diameters from micrometers to tens of micrometers.
  • Mathematical modeling indicated that contact area-dependent signaling can bias differentiation in lateral inhibition, favoring smaller cells as signal producers.
  • Ligand-producing hair cell precursors in chick inner ear development exhibited smaller apical footprints compared to non-hair cells.

Conclusions:

  • Cell morphology, specifically contact geometry, significantly influences cell-cell communication and signaling pathways like Notch.
  • The size of cell-cell contact area plays a critical role in regulating cell fate determination during development.
  • Findings provide a mechanistic link between cell shape and developmental patterning, with implications for understanding tissue morphogenesis and cell differentiation.