Notch Signaling

The Notch pathway regulates cell proliferation, cell fate, differentiation, and cell death in all metazoans. Notch itself is a cell-surface receptor that transduces short-range signals by interacting with transmembrane ligands such as Delta (termed Delta-like in humans) and Serrate (termed Jagged in humans) on neighboring cells (Fig. 1). Some soluble ligands have also been identified in Caenorhabditis elegans, but these bind to Notch together with transmembrane adaptors (Komatsu et al. 2008). Ligand binding leads to cleavage and release of the Notch intracellular domain