Abstract.
The Notch gene encodes a transmembrane receptor that gave the name to the evolutionary highly conserved Notch signaling cascade. It plays a pivotal role in the regulation of many fundamental cellular processes such as proliferation, stem cell maintenance and differentiation during embryonic and adult development. After specific ligand binding, the intracellular part of the Notch receptor is cleaved off and translocates to the nucleus, where it binds to the transcription factor RBP-J. In the absence of activated Notch, RBP-J represses Notch target genes by recruiting a corepressor complex. Here, we review Notch signaling with a focus on gene regulatory events at Notch target genes. This is of utmost importance to understand Notch signaling since certain RBP-J associated cofactors and particular epigenetic marks determine the specificity of Notch target gene expression in different cell types. We subsequently summarize the current knowledge about Notch target genes and the physiological significance of Notch signaling in development and cancer.
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Received 21 October 2008; received after revision 09 December 2008; accepted 15 December 2008
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Open Access This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0 ), which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited.
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Borggrefe, T., Oswald, F. The Notch signaling pathway: Transcriptional regulation at Notch target genes. Cell. Mol. Life Sci. 66, 1631–1646 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00018-009-8668-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00018-009-8668-7