Primers on molecular pathways--notch. Pancreatology 2008;8(2):103-4
Date
04/03/2008Pubmed ID
18382095DOI
10.1159/000123603Scopus ID
2-s2.0-43449100656 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 6 CitationsAbstract
Notch, initially discovered and well characterized in Drosophila due to the notches apparent in the wing blades of mutant strains, and its signaling pathway play a key role in cell-cell communication, which involves gene regulation mechanisms that control multiple cell differentiation processes during embryonic and adult life, including timely cell lineage specification of both the endocrine and exocrine pancreas. This pathway serves as an excellent model signaling cascade for the regulation of the transition from normal ductal epithelium to metaplasia to cancer. In human pancreatic cancer, the change in epithelial differentiation programming is an early hallmark. Several of these changes, including activation of the Notch pathway, which are observed in pathological scenarios, are also seen during normal embryonic development of the pancreas. Notch receptors, ligands as well as downstream targets have been identified to be upregulated in preneoplastic lesions to invasive pancreatic cancers in humans and mice, suggesting that Notch signaling may be an early event leading to accumulation of undifferentiated precursor cells in pancreatic cancers.
Author List
Lomberk G, Urrutia RAuthors
Gwen Lomberk PhD Professor in the Surgery department at Medical College of WisconsinRaul A. Urrutia MD Center Director, Professor in the Surgery department at Medical College of Wisconsin
MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
AnimalsHumans
Metabolic Networks and Pathways
Receptors, Notch
Signal Transduction
