scholarly journals An updated evolutionary study of the Notch family reveals a new ancient origin and novel invariable motifs as potential pharmacological targets

PeerJ ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. e10334
Author(s):  
Dimitrios Vlachakis ◽  
Louis Papageorgiou ◽  
Ariadne Papadaki ◽  
Maria Georga ◽  
Sofia Kossida ◽  
...  

Notch family proteins play a key role in a variety of developmental processes by controlling cell fate decisions and operating in a great number of biological processes in several organ systems, such as hematopoiesis, somatogenesis, vasculogenesis, neurogenesis and homeostasis. The Notch signaling pathway is crucial for the majority of developmental programs and regulates multiple pathogenic processes. Notch family receptors’ activation has been largely related to its multiple effects in sustaining oncogenesis. The Notch signaling pathway constitutes an ancient and conserved mechanism for cell to cell communication. Much of what is known about Notch family proteins function comes from studies done in Caenorhabditis Elegans and Drosophila Melanogaster. Although, human Notch homologs had also been identified, the molecular mechanisms which modulate the Notch signaling pathway remained substantially unknown. In this study, an updated evolutionary analysis of the Notch family members among 603 different organisms of all kingdoms, from bacteria to humans, was performed in order to discover key regions that have been conserved throughout evolution and play a major role in the Notch signaling pathway. The major goal of this study is the presentation of a novel updated phylogenetic tree for the Notch family as a reliable phylogeny “map”, in order to correlate information of the closely related members and identify new possible pharmacological targets that can be used in pathogenic cases, including cancer.

Cells ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 1879 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian T. Meisel ◽  
Cristina Porcheri ◽  
Thimios A. Mitsiadis

The Notch signaling pathway regulates cell proliferation, cytodifferentiation and cell fate decisions in both embryonic and adult life. Several aspects of stem cell maintenance are dependent from the functionality and fine tuning of the Notch pathway. In cancer, Notch is specifically involved in preserving self-renewal and amplification of cancer stem cells, supporting the formation, spread and recurrence of the tumor. As the function of Notch signaling is context dependent, we here provide an overview of its activity in a variety of tumors, focusing mostly on its role in the maintenance of the undifferentiated subset of cancer cells. Finally, we analyze the potential of molecules of the Notch pathway as diagnostic and therapeutic tools against the various cancers.


2021 ◽  
Vol 28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amir Valizadeh ◽  
Ali Sayadmanesh ◽  
Zatollah Asemi ◽  
Forough Alemi ◽  
Ata Mahmoodpoor ◽  
...  

: The liver is one of the significant regenerative organs in the body. Nevertheless, underlying molecular mechanisms regulating liver repair and regeneration following resection or damage remain largely unknown. The Notch signaling pathway is a profoundly evolutionarily well‐conserved cell signaling system that plays mostly in multicellular organisms' development. Malfunctions in this pathway lead to the progression of several liver disorders, including hepatoblastoma (HB), cholangiocarcinoma (CCA), hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and so on. Notch pathway plays a fundamental role in cell fate during the embryonic stage's progression to the adult stage in liver tissue. Modulation of Notch signaling may be used in the vast array of patients who succumb to cirrhosis owing to chronic hepatitis by virus infection. This review describes the underlying mechanisms of the Notch signaling pathway in liver development and regeneration briefly and discusses how this pathway leads to better liver disorders in the clinic.


2015 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Mauricio Meza Lasso ◽  
Cindy Johana Peña Barrera ◽  
Francy Yomara Bayona Rodriguez ◽  
Belfran Alcides Carbonell Medina ◽  
Clementina Infante

<p class="p1"><strong>RESUMEN</strong></p><p class="p2">La vía de señalización Notch se caracteriza por mediar la comunicación célula-célula, regulando diferentes procesos celulares como proliferación, apoptosis y definición del destino celular. Esta vía ha sido implicada en el desarrollo de estructuras craneofaciales como paladar, diente y bóveda craneal. El objetivo de esta investigación fue identificar los patrones de expresión de los genes componentes de la vía Notch, Serrate1 y Notch1, durante el desarrollo del tercio medio facial. Se utilizaron embriones de pollo (Gallus gallus) seleccionados de acuerdo a los criterios de Hamilton y Hamburger y sobre los cuales se realizó hibridación in situ con ribosondas marcadas con Digoxigenina (DIG), para luego ser detectadas con anticuerpos Anti-Dig. Los resultados mostraron expresión de los genes evaluados, en las prominencias maxilares (pmx) y frontonasal (pfn) durante el desarrollo del tercio medio facial. Estos resultados sugieren una probable participación de la vía Notch a través de estos genes, en los diferentes procesos celulares que determinan la morfogénesis y el desarrollo del tercio medio facial.</p><p class="p2"><strong>ABSTRACT</strong></p><p class="p2">The Notch signaling pathway is characterized by mediate cell-cell communication, regulating different cellular processes as proliferation, apoptosis and cell fate definition. This pathway has been implicated in craniofacial structures development as palate, teeth and cranial vault. The objective of this research was to identify the genes expression patterns of some Notch signaling pathway components, Serrate1 and Notch1, during the midface development. It was used chicken embryos (Gallus gallus) selected according to Hamilton and Hamburger criteria. We performed in situ hybridization with Digoxigenin (DIG)-labeled riboprobes and detected with the antibody Anti-Dig. The results showed the expression of the evaluated genes in the maxillary (pmx) and frontonasal (pfn) prominences during the midface development. These results suggest a probable involvement of the Notch pathway through these genes in different cellular processes that determine midface morphogenesis and development.</p><p class="p2"> </p>


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (9) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anabel Martinez Lyons ◽  
Luke Boulter

ABSTRACT The Notch signaling pathway is an evolutionarily conserved mechanism of cell–cell communication that mediates cellular proliferation, cell fate specification, and maintenance of stem and progenitor cell populations. In the vertebrate liver, an absence of Notch signaling results in failure to form bile ducts, a complex tubular network that radiates throughout the liver, which, in healthy individuals, transports bile from the liver into the bowel. Loss of a functional biliary network through congenital malformations during development results in cholestasis and necessitates liver transplantation. Here, we examine to what extent Notch signaling is necessary throughout embryonic life to initiate the proliferation and specification of biliary cells and concentrate on the animal and human models that have been used to define how perturbations in this signaling pathway result in developmental liver disorders.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Panagiotis F. Christopoulos ◽  
Torleif T. Gjølberg ◽  
Stig Krüger ◽  
Guttorm Haraldsen ◽  
Jan Terje Andersen ◽  
...  

The Notch signaling pathway regulates developmental cell-fate decisions and has recently also been linked to inflammatory diseases. Although therapies targeting Notch signaling in inflammation in theory are attractive, their design and implementation have proven difficult, at least partly due to the broad involvement of Notch signaling in regenerative and homeostatic processes. In this review, we summarize the supporting role of Notch signaling in various inflammation-driven diseases, and highlight efforts to intervene with this pathway by targeting Notch ligands and/or receptors with distinct therapeutic strategies, including antibody designs. We discuss this in light of lessons learned from Notch targeting in cancer treatment. Finally, we elaborate on the impact of individual Notch members in inflammation, which may lay the foundation for development of therapeutic strategies in chronic inflammatory diseases.


1997 ◽  
Vol 17 (9) ◽  
pp. 5620-5628 ◽  
Author(s):  
D S Eastman ◽  
R Slee ◽  
E Skoufos ◽  
L Bangalore ◽  
S Bray ◽  
...  

The Notch signaling pathway is known to regulate cell fate decisions in a variety of organisms from worms to humans. Although several components of the pathway have been characterized, the actual mechanism and molecular results of signaling remain elusive. We have examined the role of the Notch signaling pathway in the transcriptional regulation of two Drosophila Enhancer of split [E(spl)] genes, whose gene products have been shown to be downstream players in the pathway. Using a reporter assay system in Drosophila tissue culture cells, we have observed a significant induction of E(spl) m gamma and m delta expression after cotransfection with activated Notch. Characterization of the 5' regulatory regions of these two genes led to the identification of a number of target sites for the Suppressor of Hairless [Su(H)] protein, a transcription factor activated by Notch signaling. We show that Notch-inducible expression of E(spl) m gamma and m delta both in cultured cells and in vivo is dependent on functional Su(H). Although overexpression of Su(H) augments the level of induction of the reporter genes by activated Notch, Su(H) alone is insufficient to produce high levels of transcriptional activation. Despite the synergy observed between activated Notch and Su(H), the former affects neither the nuclear localization nor the DNA binding activity of the latter.


Circulation ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 118 (suppl_18) ◽  
Author(s):  
Virginia Guarani ◽  
Franck Dequiedt ◽  
Andreas M Zeiher ◽  
Stefanie Dimmeler ◽  
Michael Potente

The Notch signaling pathway is a versatile regulator of cell fate decisions and plays an essential role for embryonic and postnatal vascular development. As only modest differences in Notch pathway activity suffice to determine dramatic differences in blood vessel development, this pathway is tightly regulated by a variety of molecular mechanisms. Reversible acetylation has emerged as an important post-translational modification of several non-histone proteins, which are targeted by histone deacetylases (HDACs). Here, we report that specifically the Notch1 intracellular domain (NICD) is itself an acetylated protein and that its acetylation level is tightly regulated by the SIRT1 deacetylase, which we have previously identified as a key regulator of endothelial angiogenic functions during vascular growth. Coexpression of NICD with histone acetyltransferases such as p300 or PCAF induced a dose- and time-dependent acetylation of NICD. Blocking HDAC activity using the class III HDAC inhibitor nicotinamid (NAM), but not the class I/II HDAC inhibior trichostatin A, resulted in a significant increase of NICD acetylation suggesting that NICD is targetd by class III HDACs for deacetylation. Among the class III HDACs with deacetylase activity (SIRT1, 2, 3, 5), knock down of specifically SIRT1 resulted in enhanced acetylation of NICD. Moreover, wild type SIRT1, but not a catalytically inactive mutant catalyzed the deacetylation of NICD in a nicotinamid-dependent manner. SIRT1, but SIRT2, SIRT3 or SIRT5, associated with NICD through its catalytic domain demonstrating that SIRT1 is a direct NICD deacetylase. Enhancing NICD acetylation by either overexpression of p300 or inhibition of SIRT1 activity using NAM or RNAi-mediated knock down resulted in enhanced NICD protein stability by blocking its ubiquitin-mediated degradation. Consistent with these results, loss of SIRT1 amplified Notch target gene expression in endothelial cells in response to NICD overexpression or treatment with the Notch ligand Dll4. In summary, our results identify reversible acetylation of NICD as a novel molecular mechanism to control Notch signaling and suggest that deacetylation of NICD by SIRT1 plays a key role in the dynamic regulation of Notch signaling in endothelial cells.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Minhui Su ◽  
Fang Tian ◽  
Bingchen Ouyang ◽  
Xiaoyu Wu ◽  
Feng Guo ◽  
...  

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a rare chronic autoimmune disorder, mainly characterized by skin sclerosis. In this study, Bufei Qingyu Granules (BQG), a Chinese herbal formula, was used to treat SSc. To better understand the effects and molecular mechanisms of BQG, we successfully established a Bleomycin- (BLM-) induced SSc mouse model, and the mice were treated by BQG. Meanwhile, transcriptomic and bioinformatics analyses were conducted on those samples. As a result, we visually showed that BQG ameliorated the overall health of mice, including body weight, spleen, and thymus index. Thus, it also significantly alleviated inflammation presented by Chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand 2 (Cxcl2), vasculopathy characterized by α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), and fibrotic changes elaborated by not only pathological images, but also the hydroxyproline (HYP) content. After testing by transcriptomic analysis, Cxcl2, Synaptosomal-associated protein 25 (Snap25), and Eukaryotic translation initiation factor 3, and subunit J2 (Eif3j2) which were differentially expressed genes, were verified, so that the data were credible. We further found that BQG could regulate Notch signaling pathway by significantly decreasing both mRNA and protein expression levels of Notch-1 and Jagged-2. Hence, this study demonstrated that BQG could ameliorate the sclerotic skin in mice model involved in inflammation, vascular changes, and fibrosis effects, which was partly mediated by Notch signaling pathway.


2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (9) ◽  
pp. 653-664
Author(s):  
Challis Karasek ◽  
Mohamed Ashry ◽  
Chad S Driscoll ◽  
Jason G Knott

Abstract In mammals, the first cell-fate decision occurs during preimplantation embryo development when the inner cell mass (ICM) and trophectoderm (TE) lineages are established. The ICM develops into the embryo proper, while the TE lineage forms the placenta. The underlying molecular mechanisms that govern lineage formation involve cell-to-cell interactions, cell polarization, cell signaling and transcriptional regulation. In this review, we will discuss the current understanding regarding the cellular and molecular events that regulate lineage formation in mouse preimplantation embryos with an emphasis on cell polarity and the Hippo signaling pathway. Moreover, we will provide an overview on some of the molecular tools that are used to manipulate the Hippo pathway and study cell-fate decisions in early embryos. Lastly, we will provide exciting future perspectives on transcriptional regulatory mechanisms that modulate the activity of the Hippo pathway in preimplantation embryos to ensure robust lineage segregation.


2008 ◽  
Vol 182 (6) ◽  
pp. 1113-1125 ◽  
Author(s):  
An-Chi Tien ◽  
Akhila Rajan ◽  
Karen L. Schulze ◽  
Hyung Don Ryoo ◽  
Melih Acar ◽  
...  

Notch-mediated cell–cell communication regulates numerous developmental processes and cell fate decisions. Through a mosaic genetic screen in Drosophila melanogaster, we identified a role in Notch signaling for a conserved thiol oxidase, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) oxidoreductin 1–like (Ero1L). Although Ero1L is reported to play a widespread role in protein folding in yeast, in flies Ero1L mutant clones show specific defects in lateral inhibition and inductive signaling, two characteristic processes regulated by Notch signaling. Ero1L mutant cells accumulate high levels of Notch protein in the ER and induce the unfolded protein response, suggesting that Notch is misfolded and fails to be exported from the ER. Biochemical assays demonstrate that Ero1L is required for formation of disulfide bonds of three Lin12-Notch repeats (LNRs) present in the extracellular domain of Notch. These LNRs are unique to the Notch family of proteins. Therefore, we have uncovered an unexpected requirement for Ero1L in the maturation of the Notch receptor.


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