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A Notch-independent function of Suppressor of Hairless during the development of the bristle sensory organ precursor cell of Drosophila.

Su(H)/CBF1 is a key component of the evolutionary conserved Notch signalling pathway. It is a transcription factor that acts as a repressor in the absence of the Notch signal. If Notch signalling is activated, it associates with the released intracellular domain of the Notch receptor and acts as an activator of transcription. During the development of the mechanosensory bristles of Drosophila, a selection process called lateral inhibition assures that only a few cells are selected out of a group to become sensory organ precursors (SOP). During this process, the SOP cell is thought to suppress the same fate in its surrounding neighbours via the activation of the Notch/Su(H) pathway in these cells. We show that, although Su(H) is required to prevent the SOP fate during lateral inhibition, it is also required to promote the further development of the SOP once it is selected. Importantly, in this situation Su(H) appears to act independently of the Notch signalling pathway. We find that loss of Su(H) function leads to an arrest of SOP development because of the loss of sens expression in the SOP. Our results suggest that Su(H) acts as a repressor that suppresses the activity of one or more negative regulator(s) of sens expression. We show that this repressor activity is encoded by one or several genes of the E(spl)-complex. Our results further suggest that the position of the SOP in a proneural cluster is determined by very precise positional cues, which render the SOP insensitive to Dl.

Animals↗

Notch activates sonic hedgehog and both are involved in the specification of dorsal midline cell-fates in Xenopus.

We analysed the role of Notch signalling during the specification of the dorsal midline in Xenopus embryos. By activating or blocking the pathway we found that Notch expands the floor plate domain of sonic hedgehog and pintallavis and represses the notochordal markers chordin and brachyury, with a concomitant reduction of the notochord size. We propose that within a population of the early organiser with equivalent potential to develop either as notochord or floor plate, Notch activation favours floor plate development at the expense of the notochord, preferentially before mid gastrula. We present evidence that sonic hedgehog down-regulates chordin, suggesting that secreted Sonic hedgehog may be involved or reinforcing the cell-fate switch executed by Notch. We also show that Notch signalling requires Presenilin to modulate this switch.

Animals↗

Wingless and Notch signaling provide cell survival cues and control cell proliferation during wing development.

Tissue growth during animal development depends on the coordination of cell proliferation and cell death. The EGF-receptor/MAPK, Hedgehog, Dpp, Wingless (Wg) and Notch signaling pathways have been implicated in growth control in the developing Drosophila wing. In this report, we examine the effects of Notch and Wg on growth in terms of cell proliferation and cell survival. Reduction of Wg signaling impaired compartment and clonal growth, and increased cell death. Inhibition of apoptosis in cells deficient for Wg signaling only partially rescued the clone growth defect, suggesting that Wg is also required to promote cell proliferation. This is supported by the finding that ectopic expression of Wg caused over-proliferation of cells in the proximal wing. Localized activation of Notch had non-autonomous effects on cell proliferation. However, only part of this effect was attributable to Notch-dependent induction of Wg, suggesting that other Notch-inducible signaling molecules contribute to the control of cell proliferation in the wing.

Animals↗

Influence of Notch on dorsoventral compartmentalization and actin organization in the Drosophila wing.

Compartment boundaries play key roles in tissue organization by separating cell populations. Activation of the Notch receptor is required for dorsoventral (DV) compartmentalization of the Drosophila wing, but the nature of its requirement has been controversial. Here, we provide additional evidence that a stripe of Notch activation is sufficient to establish a sharp separation between cell populations, irrespective of their dorsal or ventral identities. We further find that cells at the DV compartment boundary are characterized by a distinct shape, a smooth interface, and an accumulation of F-actin at the adherens junction. Genetic manipulation establishes that a stripe of Notch activation is both necessary and sufficient for this DV boundary cell phenotype, and supports the existence of a non-transcriptional branch of the Notch pathway that influences F-actin. Finally, we identify a distinct requirement for a regulator of actin polymerization, capulet, in DV compartmentalization. These observations imply that Notch effects compartmentalization through a novel mechanism, which we refer to as a fence, that does not depend on the establishment of compartment-specific cell affinities, but does depend on the organization of the actin cytoskeleton.

Actins↗

Neurogenic and antineurogenic effects from modifications at the Notch locus.

The best studied mutations at the Notch locus produce a neurogenic phenotype, with a massive overgrowth of the nervous system at the expense of epidermis. We report here that, in the development of the adult peripheral nervous system, the Abruptex alleles of Notch have the opposite phenotype, namely an underproduction of sensory organs or sensilla. This arises primarily not from an arrest of the lineages that produce sensilla, from the degeneration of sensillar cells, or from the transformation into neurons of cells that normally secrete the cuticular components of a sensillum (as can happen in Notch alleles). Rather, our evidence argues strongly that the sensillar mother cells never form. This implies that the Notch protein plays a role in the process that first generates a difference between sensillar mother cells and ordinary epidermal cells. The number of sensilla formed on the wing of flies carrying multiple doses of Notch+ is virtually the same as that of wild type, i.e. the Abruptex phenotype is not reproduced to any significant extent. This suggests that the single amino acid substitutions that occur in Abruptex mutants confer on the protein some functionally distinctive feature, possibly more powerful intermolecular binding or altered stability.

Alleles↗

A hierarchy of cross-regulation involving Notch, wingless, vestigial and cut organizes the dorsal/ventral axis of the Drosophila wing.

Short-range interaction between dorsal and ventral cells establishes an organizing center at the dorsal/ventral compartment boundary that controls growth and patterning of the wing. We report here that the dorsal/ventral organiser is built though a hierarchy of regulatory interactions involving the Notch and wingless signal transduction pathways and the vestigial gene. wingless and vestigial are activated in cells adjacent to the dorsal/ventral boundary by a Notch-dependent signal. vestigial is initially expressed under control of an early dorsal/ventral boundary enhancer that does not depend on wingless activity. Similarly, activation of wingless does not require vestigial function, showing that wingless and vestigial are parallel targets of the Notch pathway. Subsequently, vestigial is expressed in a broad domain that fills the wing pouch. This second phase of vestigial expression depends on Wingless function in cells at the dorsal/ventral boundary. In addition, the Notch and Wingless pathways act synergistically to regulate expression of cut in cells at the dorsal/ventral boundary. Thus Wingless can act locally, in combination with Notch, to specify cell fates, as well as at a distance to control vestigial expression. These results suggest that secreted Wingless protein mediates both long-range and short-range patterning activities of the dorsal/ventral boundary.

Animals↗

The Xenopus homolog of Drosophila Suppressor of Hairless mediates Notch signaling during primary neurogenesis.

The X-Notch-1 receptor, and its putative ligand, X-Delta-1, are thought to mediate an inhibitory cell-cell interaction, called lateral inhibition, that limits the number of primary neurons that form in Xenopus embryos. The expression of Xenopus ESR-1, a gene related to Drosophila Enhancer of split, appears to be induced by Notch signaling during this process. To determine how the activation of X-Notch-1 induces ESR-1 expression and regulates primary neurogenesis, we isolated the Xenopus homolog of Suppressor of Hairless (X-Su(H)), a component of the Notch signaling pathway in Drosophila. Using animal cap assays, we show that X-Su(H) induces ESR-1 expression, perhaps directly, when modified by the addition of ankyrin repeats. Using a DNA binding mutant of X-Su(H), we show that X-Su(H) activity is required for induction of ESR-1. Finally, expression of the DNA binding mutant in embryos leads to a neurogenic phenotype as well as increased expression of both X-Delta-1 and XNGNR1, a proneural gene expressed during primary neurogenesis. These results suggest that activation of X-Su(H) is a key step in the Notch signaling pathway during primary neurogenesis in Xenopus embryos.

Animals↗

Cis-interactions between Delta and Notch modulate neurogenic signalling in Drosophila.

We find that ectopic expression of Delta or Serrate in neurons within developing bristle organs is capable of non-autonomously inducing the transformation of the pre-trichogen cell into a tormogen cell in a wide variety of developmental contexts. The frequencies at which Delta can induce these transformations are dependent on the level of ectopic Delta expression and the levels of endogenous Notch signalling pathway components. The pre-trichogen cell becomes more responsive to Delta- or Serrate-mediated transformation when the level of endogenous Delta is reduced and less responsive when the dosage of endogenous Delta is increased, supporting the hypothesis that Delta interferes autonomously with the ability of a cell to receive either signal. We also find that a dominant-negative form of Notch, ECN, is capable of autonomously interfering with the ability of a cell to generate the Delta signal. When the region of Notch that mediates trans-interactions between Delta and the Notch extracellular domain is removed from ECN, the ability of Delta to signal is restored. Our findings imply that cell-autonomous interactions between Delta and Notch can affect the ability of a cell to generate and to transduce a Delta-mediated signal. Finally, we present evidence that the Fringe protein can interfere with Delta- and Serrate-mediated signalling within developing bristle organs, in contrast to previous reports of the converse effects of Fringe on Delta signalling in the developing wing.

Animals↗

Cell fate choices and the expression of Notch, Delta and Serrate homologues in the chick inner ear: parallels with Drosophila sense-organ development.

The sensory patches in the vertebrate inner ear are similar in function to the mechanosensory bristles of a fly, and consist of a similar set of cell types. If they are truly homologous structures, they should also develop by similar mechanisms. We examine the genesis of the neurons, hair cells and supporting cells that form the sensory patches in the inner ear of the chick. These all arise from the otic epithelium, and are produced normally even in otic epithelium cultured in isolation, confirming that their production is governed by mechanisms intrinsic to the epithelium. First, the neuronal sublineage becomes separate from the epithelial: between E2 and E3.5, neuroblasts delaminate from the otocyst. The neuroblasts then give rise to a mixture of neurons and neuroblasts, while the sensory epithelial cells diversify to form a mixture of hair cells and supporting cells. The epithelial patches where this occurs are marked from an early stage by uniform and maintained expression of the Notch ligand Serrate1. The Notch ligand Delta1 is also expressed, but transiently and in scattered cells: it is seen both early, during neuroblast segregation, where it appears to be in the nascent neuroblasts, and again later, in the ganglion and in differentiating sensory patches, where it appears to be in the nascent hair cells, disappearing as they mature. Delta-Notch-mediated lateral inhibition may thus act at each developmental branchpoint to drive neighbouring cells along different developmental pathways. Our findings indicate that the sensory patches of the vertebrate inner ear and the sensory bristles of a fly are generated by minor variations of the same basic developmental program, in which cell diversification driven by Delta-Notch and/or Serrate-Notch signalling plays a central part.

Animals↗

Twist and Notch negatively regulate adult muscle differentiation in Drosophila.

Twist is required in Drosophila embryogenesis for mesodermal specification and cell-fate choice. We have examined the role of Twist and Notch during adult indirect flight muscle development. Reduction in levels of Twist leads to abnormal myogenesis. Notch reduction causes a similar mutant phenotype and reduces Twist levels. Conversely, persistent expression, in myoblasts, of activated Notch causes continued twist expression and failure of differentiation as assayed by myosin expression. The gain-of-function phenotype of Notch is very similar to that seen upon persistent twist expression. These results point to a relationship between Notch function and twist regulation during indirect flight muscle development and show that decline in Twist levels is a requirement for the differentiation of these muscles, unlike the somatic muscles of the embryo.

Animals↗

Composite signalling from Serrate and Delta establishes leg segments in Drosophila through Notch.

The receptor protein NOTCH and its ligands SERRATE and DELTA are involved in many developmental processes in invertebrates and vertebrates alike. Here we show that the expression of the Serrate and Delta genes patterns the segments of the leg in Drosophila by a combination of their signalling activities. Coincident stripes of Serrate and Delta expressing cells activate Enhancer of split expression in adjacent cells through Notch signalling. These cells form a patterning boundary from which a putative secondary signal leads to the development of leg joints. Elsewhere in the tarsal segments, signalling by DELTA and NOTCH is necessary for the development of non-joint parts of the leg. We propose that these two effects result from different thresholds of NOTCH activation, which are translated into different downstream gene expression effects. We propose a general mechanism for creation of boundaries by Notch signalling.

Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing↗

Interplay of Notch and FGF signaling restricts cell fate and MAPK activation in the Drosophila trachea.

The patterned branching in the Drosophila tracheal system is triggered by the FGF-like ligand Branchless that activates a receptor tyrosine kinase Breathless and the MAP kinase pathway. A single fusion cell at the tip of each fusion branch expresses the zinc-finger gene escargot, leads branch migration in a stereotypical pattern and contacts with another fusion cell to mediate fusion of the branches. A high level of MAP kinase activation is also limited to the tip of the branches. Restriction of such cell specialization events to the tip is essential for tracheal tubulogenesis. Here we show that Notch signaling plays crucial roles in the singling out process of the fusion cell. We found that Notch is activated in tracheal cells by Branchless signaling through stimulation of &Dgr; expression at the tip of tracheal branches and that activated Notch represses the fate of the fusion cell. In addition, Notch is required to restrict activation of MAP kinase to the tip of the branches, in part through the negative regulation of Branchless expression. Notch-mediated lateral inhibition in sending and receiving cells is thus essential to restrict the inductive influence of Branchless on the tracheal tubulogenesis.

Animals↗

fringe and Notch specify polar cell fate during Drosophila oogenesis.

fringe encodes a glycosyltransferase that modulates the ability of the Notch receptor to be activated by its ligands. We describe studies of fringe function during early stages of Drosophila oogenesis. Animals mutant for hypomorphic alleles of fringe contain follicles with an incorrect number of germline cells, which are separated by abnormally long and disorganized stalks. Analysis of clones of somatic cells mutant for a null allele of fringe localizes the requirement for fringe in follicle formation to the polar cells, and demonstrates that fringe is required for polar cell fate. Clones of cells mutant for Notch also lack polar cells and the requirement for Notch in follicle formation appears to map to the polar cells. Ectopic expression of fringe or of an activated form of Notch can generate an extra polar cell. Our results indicate that fringe plays a key role in positioning Notch activation during early oogenesis, and establish a function for the polar cells in separating germline cysts into individual follicles.

Animals↗

Notch signalling and the initiation of neural development in the Drosophila eye.

Neural determination in the Drosophila eye occurs progressively. A diffusible signal, Dpp, causes undetermined cells first to adopt a 'pre-proneural' state in which they are primed to start differentiating. A second signal is required to trigger the activation of the transcription factor Atonal, which causes the cells to initiate overt photoreceptor neurone differentiation. Both Dpp and the second signal are dependent on Hedgehog (Hh) signalling. Previous work has shown that the Notch signalling pathway also has a proneural role in the eye (as well as a later, opposite function when it restricts the number of cells becoming photoreceptors - a process of lateral inhibition). It is not clear how the early proneural role of Notch integrates with the other signalling pathways involved. We provide evidence that Notch activation by its ligand Delta is the second Hh-dependent signal required for neural determination. Notch activity normally only triggers Atonal expression in cells that have adopted the pre-proneural state induced by Dpp. We also report that Notch drives the transition from pre-proneural to proneural by downregulating two repressors of Atonal: Hairy and Extramacrochaetae.

Animals↗

DNA variability and divergence at the notch locus in Drosophila melanogaster and D. simulans: a case of accelerated synonymous site divergence.

DNA diversity in two segments of the Notch locus was surveyed in four populations of Drosophila melanogaster and two of D. simulans. In both species we observed evidence of non-steady-state evolution. In D. simulans we observed a significant excess of intermediate frequency variants in a non-African population. In D. melanogaster we observed a disparity between levels of sequence polymorphism and divergence between one of the Notch regions sequenced and other neutral X chromosome loci. The striking feature of the data is the high level of synonymous site divergence at Notch, which is the highest reported to date. To more thoroughly investigate the pattern of synonymous site evolution between these species, we developed a method for calibrating preferred, unpreferred, and equal synonymous substitutions by the effective (potential) number of such changes. In D. simulans, we find that preferred changes per "site" are evolving significantly faster than unpreferred changes at Notch. In contrast we observe a significantly faster per site substitution rate of unpreferred changes in D. melanogaster at this locus. These results suggest that positive selection, and not simply relaxation of constraint on codon bias, has contributed to the higher levels of unpreferred divergence along the D. melanogaster lineage at Notch.

Animals↗

NFkappaB2 (p52) promoter activation via Notch signaling pathway in rheumatoid synoviocytes.

Rheumatoid synoviocytes produce inflammatory cytokines and exhibit strong proliferation activity, which cause severe cartilage destruction in the joints. Previously, we reported that NFkappaB, a transcriptional factor that activated by mitogenic signals, was activated in rheumatoid synoviocytes. In addition, we revealed that Notch-1, the transcriptional factor that is involved in the developmental stages, was abnormally activated in rheumatoid synoviocytes. In this study, as one of the roles of Notch-1 for the chronic inflammation in RA, we examined its implication to NFkappaB2 activation in rheumatoid synoviocytes. Western blotting analysis showed that NFkappaB2 expression was elevated in rheumatoid synoviocytes compared with patients with osteoarthritis studied as control. We then analyzed NFkappaB2 binding activity to the promoter and revealed that kappaB binding complexes to the NFkappaB2 promoter was elevated in rheumatoid synoviocytes. We analyzed implication of Notch-1 signaling pathway on NFkappaB2 activation, and found that Notch-1 made a complex with recombination binding protein Jkappa (RBPJkappa), a repressor for NFkappaB2 promoter, and blocked binding of RBPJkappa to the promoter. These results indicated that as one of the mechanisms for nuclear translocated Notch-1, complex formation with RBPJkappa induces blocking of the NFkappaB2 promoter suppression, which might cause NFkappaB2 promoter activation.

Arthritis, Rheumatoid↗

Notch-regulated ankyrin-repeat protein inhibits Notch1 signaling: multiple Notch1 signaling pathways involved in T cell development.

We have characterized the function of Notch-regulated ankyrin-repeat protein (Nrarp) in mouse cell lines and in hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). Nrarp overexpression is able to block Notch-induced activation of CBF-1. In AKR1010 thymoma cells, Nrarp overexpression blocks CBF-1-dependent transcriptional activation of Notch-responsive genes and inhibits phenotypic changes associated with Notch activation. Enforced expression of Nrarp in mouse HSCs results in a profound block in T lineage commitment and progression through early stages of thymocyte maturation. In contrast, Deltex-1 overexpression in HSCs can also block T lineage commitment but not progression through the early double negative stages of thymocyte maturation. The different effects of Deltex-1 and Nrarp overexpression suggest that alternate Notch signaling pathways mediate T vs B lineage commitment and thymocyte maturation.

Animals↗

Notch signaling as a target in multimodality cancer therapy.

Notch signaling is an extremely conserved and widely used mechanism controlling cell fate determination. Recent evidence shows that Notch receptors regulate cell differentiation, proliferation and apoptosis in many cells, including neoplastic cells. In the context of cancer experimental immunotherapy and multimodality therapy, the Notch signaling network is acquiring increasing importance for its possible roles in both neoplastic cells and the immune system. In this review, we discuss: (i) the roles of Notch signaling in cancer cells and the immune system; and (ii) strategies through which Notch-targeting biologicals may be used to increase the effectiveness of multimodality cancer treatment, including cancer vaccines.

Animals↗