Notch Cell Communication and Gene Control

Notch signaling is a conserved cell-to-cell communication pathway in animals. It is unusual because the Notch protein acts as both the receptor and the main signaling molecule. The pathway was first linked to a mutant wing shape in Drosophila melanogaster, where changes in the Notch gene caused a serrated, or "notched,&...

Notch proteins are single-pass transmembrane receptors with an extracellular domain that binds the ligand, a transmembrane domain that spans the plasma membrane, and an intracellular domain that acts in signaling.

These receptors act to control cell fate decisions, such as proliferation or apoptosis, in many tissues.

They do this b...