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Updated: Jun 26, 2025

Real-time Bioluminescence Imaging of Notch Signaling Dynamics during Murine Neurogenesis
Published on: December 12, 2019
Dynamic modes of Notch transcription hubs conferring memory and stochastic activation revealed by live imaging the
F Javier DeHaro-Arbona1, Charalambos Roussos1, Sarah Baloul1
1Department of Physiology Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom.
Abstract:
Developmental programming involves the accurate conversion of signalling levels and dynamics to transcriptional outputs. The transcriptional relay in the Notch pathway relies on nuclear complexes containing the co-activator Mastermind (Mam). By tracking these complexes in real time, we reveal that they promote the formation of a dynamic transcription hub in Notch ON nuclei which concentrates key factors including the Mediator CDK module. The composition of the hub is labile and persists after Notch withdrawal conferring a memory that enables rapid reformation. Surprisingly, only a third of Notch ON hubs progress to a state with nascent transcription, which correlates with polymerase II and core Mediator recruitment. This probability is increased by a second signal. The discovery that target-gene transcription is probabilistic has far-reaching implications because it implies that stochastic differences in Notch pathway output can arise downstream of receptor activation.
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