NOTCH Your Usual Suspect: MYC Charged with Controlling Neuroendocrine Cell-Fate in Small Cell Lung Cancer

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Dec 15, 2025

Integration of Bioinformatics Approaches and Experimental Validations to Understand the Role of Notch Signaling in Ovarian Cancer
09:08

Integration of Bioinformatics Approaches and Experimental Validations to Understand the Role of Notch Signaling in Ovarian Cancer

Published on: January 12, 2020

7.1K

Jin Ng1, Kate D Sutherland1

  • 1ACRF Cancer Biology and Stem Cell Division, The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia; Department of Medical Biology, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC 3052, Australia.

Cancer Cell
|July 15, 2020
PubMed

Insights

MYC activates NOTCH signaling to control neuroendocrine cell plasticity in small cell lung cancer (SCLC). This interaction drives tumor cell dynamics and the co-existence of SCLC subtypes within tumors.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Cancer Research

Background:

  • Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is characterized by significant cellular heterogeneity.
  • Understanding the mechanisms driving this heterogeneity is crucial for developing effective therapies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of MYC in mediating neuroendocrine cell plasticity in SCLC.
  • To elucidate the relationship between MYC, NOTCH signaling, and SCLC subtype co-existence.

Main Methods:

  • The study by Ireland et al. focuses on the molecular mechanisms within SCLC.
  • Analysis involves understanding the activation of NOTCH signaling by MYC.

Main Results:

  • MYC was demonstrated to mediate neuroendocrine cell plasticity in SCLC.
  • Activation of NOTCH signaling by MYC was identified as a key mechanism.
  • This MYC-NOTCH axis was shown to control tumor cell dynamics.

Conclusions:

  • The MYC-NOTCH axis plays a critical role in the heterogeneity of SCLC.
  • This axis facilitates the co-existence of different SCLC subtypes within individual tumors.
  • Targeting this pathway may offer new therapeutic strategies for SCLC.

More Related Videos

Stimulation of Notch Signaling in Mouse Osteoclast Precursors08:01

Stimulation of Notch Signaling in Mouse Osteoclast Precursors

Published on: February 28, 2017

8.2K
Real-time Bioluminescence Imaging of Notch Signaling Dynamics during Murine Neurogenesis10:25

Real-time Bioluminescence Imaging of Notch Signaling Dynamics during Murine Neurogenesis

Published on: December 12, 2019

8.0K

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...
6.1K
Role Of Notch Signalling In Intestinal Stem Cell Renewal01:12

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...
2.3K
Abnormal Proliferation02:23

Abnormal Proliferation

Under normal conditions, most adult cells remain in a non-proliferative state unless stimulated by internal or external factors to replace lost cells. Abnormal cell proliferation is a condition in which the cell's growth exceeds and is uncoordinated with normal cells. In such situations, cell division persists in the same excessive manner even after cessation of the stimuli, leading to persistent tumors. The tumor arises from the damaged cells that replicate to pass the damage to the...
5.0K
Canonical Wnt Signaling Pathway02:54

Canonical Wnt Signaling Pathway

The gene encoding the main signaling molecules of the Wnt signaling pathways (the Wnt proteins) was discovered almost four decades ago by Nüsslein-Volhard and Wieschaus. They identified and originally named the gene "wingless" (wg) after a phenotype discovered during their landmark genetic screen in Drosophila for body pattern defects. At around the same time, another researcher named Harold Varmus found that a murine tumor virus activates the mammalian wg homolog, Int-1, which...
10.1K
mTOR Signaling and Cancer Progression03:03

mTOR Signaling and Cancer Progression

The mammalian target of rapamycin or mTOR protein was discovered in 1994 due to its direct interaction with rapamycin. The protein gets its name from a yeast homolog called TOR. The mTOR protein complex in mammalian cells plays a major role in balancing anabolic processes such as the synthesis of proteins, lipids, and nucleotides and catabolic processes, such as autophagy in response to environmental cues, such as availability of nutrients and growth factors.
The mTOR pathway or the...
4.5K
Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells01:06

Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

Stem cells are undifferentiated cells that divide and produce different cell types. Ordinarily, cells that have differentiated into a specific cell type are terminally differentiated; however, scientists have found a way to reprogram these mature cells so that they dedifferentiate and return to an unspecialized, proliferative state. These cells are pluripotent like embryonic stem cells—able to produce all cell types—and are called induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs).
Somatic...
5.1K