Related Experiment Video

Updated: Sep 13, 2025

Tumor Allotransplantation in Drosophila melanogaster with a Programmable Auto-Nanoliter Injector
05:06

Tumor Allotransplantation in Drosophila melanogaster with a Programmable Auto-Nanoliter Injector

Published on: February 2, 2021

2.5K

Notch Signaling in Drosophila Tumor Models

Alexandre Djiane1

  • 1IRCM, Univ Montpellier, Inserm, ICM, Montpellier, France. alexandre.djiane@inserm.fr.

Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology
|July 31, 2025
PubMed

Insights

The Notch pathway, a cell-to-cell signaling system, plays a critical role in development and cancer. Its dysregulation can drive tumor growth or suppression in Drosophila models, highlighting its complex role in oncogenesis.

Area of Science:

  • Cell signaling
  • Developmental biology
  • Cancer research

Background:

  • The Notch pathway is a conserved juxtacrine signaling mechanism regulating cell fate and tissue patterning.
  • Notch pathway alterations are implicated in various pathologies, including cancer, where it can function as an oncogene or tumor suppressor.
  • In Drosophila, Notch signaling influences both normal development and tumor progression.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To describe the Notch pathway and its regulatory nodes.
  • To review the role of Notch pathway dysregulation in Drosophila tumor models.
  • To elucidate Notch's dual role in promoting or preventing tumor development.

Main Methods:

  • Review of existing literature on Notch pathway signaling.
  • Analysis of Drosophila tumor models.
  • Examination of Notch pathway's role in larval and adult tissues.

Main Results:

  • The Notch pathway has multiple regulatory points that can lead to cancer.
  • Notch signaling can act as an oncogene or tumor suppressor in different cancer contexts.
  • In Drosophila, Notch pathway misregulation is implicated in tumor development and evolution.

Conclusions:

  • The Notch pathway is a critical regulator of cell fate with significant implications in cancer.
  • Understanding Notch pathway regulation is key to identifying therapeutic targets for Notch-driven cancers.
  • Drosophila tumor models provide valuable insights into the complex role of Notch signaling in oncogenesis.
Keywords:
Adult midgutEpithelial cellsImaginal discsNeuroblastsNotchStem cells

More Related Videos

Integration of Bioinformatics Approaches and Experimental Validations to Understand the Role of Notch Signaling in Ovarian Cancer09:08

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

Published on: January 12, 2020

6.8K
The Drosophila Imaginal Disc Tumor Model: Visualization and Quantification of Gene Expression and Tumor Invasiveness Using Genetic Mosaics10:31

The Drosophila Imaginal Disc Tumor Model: Visualization and Quantification of Gene Expression and Tumor Invasiveness Using Genetic Mosaics

Published on: October 6, 2016

11.2K

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...
4.4K
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...
2.2K
Hedgehog Signaling Pathway02:33

Hedgehog Signaling Pathway

The Hedgehog gene (Hh) was first discovered due to its control of the growth of disorganized, hair-like bristles phenotype in Drosophila, much like hedgehog spines. Hh plays a crucial role in the development of organs and the maintenance of homeostasis in both invertebrates and vertebrates. However, while Drosophila has only one Hh protein, mammals have multiple functional Hedgehog proteins - Sonic (Shh), Desert (Dhh), and Indian Hedgehog (Ihh). All of these homologous proteins have adapted to...
7.5K
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...
8.9K
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...
3.9K