Spyros Artavanis-Tsakonas

Nucleotide sequence from the neurogenic locus notch implies a gene product that shares homology with proteins containing EGF-like repeats.

The primary structure of the major embryonic Notch transcript is presented, as determined by sequence analysis of overlapping cDNA clones. The 10,148 bp sequence corresponding to this transcript possesses an 8109 bp open reading frame that potentially codes for a 2703 amino acid protein. We show that this polypeptide contains a repeated structure composed of 36 tandemly arranged 40 amino acid long repeats, which show homology to the epidermal growth factor and other proteins containing EGF-like repeats. Hydropathy plots suggest that the putative Notch protein may span the membrane. We relate these findings to the developmental action of Notch and speculate that the locus may be involved in a cell-cell interaction mechanism that is essential for the differentiation of the ectoderm into neural and epidermal precursors.

Specific EGF Repeats of Notch Mediate Interactions with Delta and Serrate: Implications for Notch as a Multifunctional Receptor

The neurogenic loci Notch and Delta, which both encode EGF-homologous transmembrane proteins, appear to function together in mediating cell-cell communication and have been shown to interact at the cell surface in vitro. To examine the role of the EGF repeats in this interaction, we performed an extensive deletion mutagenesis of the extracellular domain of Notch. We find that of the 36 EGF repeats of Notch, only two, 11 and 12, are both necessary and sufficient to mediate interactions with Delta. Furthermore, this Delta binding ability is conserved in the corresponding two repeats from the Xenopus Notch homolog. We report a novel molecular interaction between Notch and Serrate, another EGF-homologous transmembrane protein containing a region of striking similarity to Delta, and show that the same two EGF repeats of Notch also constitute a Serrate binding domain. These results suggest that Notch may act as a multifunctional receptor whose 36 EGF repeats form a tandem array of discrete ligand-binding units, each of which may potentially interact with several different proteins during development.

Notch signals control the fate of immature progenitor cells in the intestine

The Notch signalling pathway plays a crucial role in specifying cellular fates in metazoan development by regulating communication between adjacent cells. Correlative studies suggested an involvement of Notch in intestinal development. Here, by modulating Notch activity in the mouse intestine, we directly implicate Notch signals in intestinal cell lineage specification. We also show that Notch activation is capable of amplifying the intestinal progenitor pool while inhibiting cell differentiation. We conclude that Notch activity is required for the maintenance of proliferating crypt cells in the intestinal epithelium.

Notch signalling in vertebrate neural development

Signals through the Notch receptors are used throughout development to control cellular fate choices. Loss- and gain-of-function studies revealed both the pleiotropic action of the Notch signalling pathway in development and the potential of Notch signals as tools to influence the developmental path of undifferentiated cells. As we review here, Notch signalling affects the development of the nervous system at many different levels. Understanding the complex genetic circuitry that allows Notch signals to affect specific cell fates in a context-specific manner defines the next challenge, especially as such an understanding might have important implications for regenerative medicine.

Molecular interactions between the protein products of the neurogenic loci Notch and Delta, two EGF-homologous genes in Drosophila

Genetic analyses have raised the possibility of interactions between the gene products of the neurogenic loci Notch and Delta, each of which encodes a transmembrane protein with EGF homology. To examine the possibility of intermolecular association between the products of these two genes, we studied the effects of their expression on aggregation in Drosophila S2 cells. We find that Notch-expressing cells form mixed aggregates specifically with cells that express Delta and that this process is calcium dependent. In addition, we show that Notch and Delta can associate within the membrane of a single cell, and further, that they form detergent-soluble intermolecular complexes. Our analyses suggest that Notch and Delta proteins interact at the cell surface via their extracellular domains.

Intracellular Cleavage of Notch Leads to a Heterodimeric Receptor on the Plasma Membrane

Previous models for signal transduction via the Notch pathway have depicted the full-length Notch receptor expressed at the cell surface. We present evidence demonstrating that the Notch receptor on the plasma membrane is cleaved. This cleavage is an evolutionarily conserved, general property of Notch and occurs in the trans-Golgi network as the receptor traffics toward the plasma membrane. Although full-length Notch is detectable in the cell, it does not reach the surface. Cleavage results in a C-terminal fragment, N(TM), that appears to be cleaved N-terminal to the transmembrane domain, and an N-terminal fragment, N(EC), that contains most of the extracellular region. We provide evidence that these fragments are tethered together on the plasma membrane by a link that is sensitive to reducing conditions, forming a heterodimeric receptor.

THE SUPPRESSOR OF HAIRLESS PROTEIN PARTICIPATES IN NOTCH RECEPTOR SIGNALING

In a genetic screen for mutations that attenuate Notch signaling in the developing Drosophila eye, we isolated rare, gain-of-function alleles of Suppressor of Hairless (Su(H)), the fly homolog of the mammalian C promoter-binding factor 1 (CBF1) gene. Su(H) exhibits numerous allele-specific genetic interactions with Notch as well as with Delta, deltex, and mastermind. In cultured Drosophila cells, the Su(H) protein is sequestered in the cytoplasm when coexpressed with Notch protein and is translocated to the nucleus when Notch binds to its ligand Delta. Cytoplasmic retention of Su(H) requires the intracellular cdc10/ankyrin repeats of Notch, which associate with Su(H) protein in the yeast interaction trap assay. These results indicate that Notch activity may regulate nuclear events by controlling the activity of a DNA-binding protein.

Interaction between wingless and notch signaling pathways mediated by dishevelled

In Drosophila, the Wingless and Notch signaling pathways function in many of the same developmental patterning events. Genetic analysis demonstrates that the dishevelled gene, which encodes a molecule previously implicated in implementation of the Wingless signal, interacts antagonistically with Notch and one of its known ligands, Delta. A direct physical interaction between Dishevelled and the Notch carboxyl terminus, distal to the cdc10/ankyrin repeats, suggests a mechanism for this interaction. It is proposed that Dishevelled, in addition to transducing the Wingless signal, blocks Notch signaling directly, thus providing a molecular mechanism for the inhibitory cross talk observed between these pathways.

A Protein Complex Network of Drosophila melanogaster

Determining the composition of protein complexes is an essential step toward understanding the cell as an integrated system. Using coaffinity purification coupled to mass spectrometry analysis, we examined protein associations involving nearly 5,000 individual, FLAG-HA epitope-tagged Drosophila proteins. Stringent analysis of these data, based on a statistical framework designed to define individual protein-protein interactions, led to the generation of a Drosophila protein interaction map (DPiM) encompassing 556 protein complexes. The high quality of the DPiM and its usefulness as a paradigm for metazoan proteomes are apparent from the recovery of many known complexes, significant enrichment for shared functional attributes, and validation in human cells. The DPiM defines potential novel members for several important protein complexes and assigns functional links to 586 protein-coding genes lacking previous experimental annotation. The DPiM represents, to our knowledge, the largest metazoan protein complex map and provides a valuable resource for analysis of protein complex evolution.

Specific truncations of Drosophila Notch define dominant activated and dominant negative forms of the receptor

The Notch gene of Drosophila plays an important role in cell fate specification throughout development. To investigate the functions of specific structural domains of the Notch protein in vivo, a series of deletion mutants have been ectopically expressed under the hsp70 heat shock promoter. Two classes of dominant phenotypes are observed, one suggestive of Notch loss-of-function mutations and the other of Notch gain-of-function mutations. Dominant activated phenotypes result from overexpression of a protein lacking most extracellular sequences, while dominant negative phenotypes result from overexpression of a protein lacking most intracellular sequences. These results support the notion that Notch functions as a receptor whose extracellular domain mediates ligand binding, resulting in the transmission of developmental signals by the cytoplasmic domain. Finally, the phenotypes observed suggest that the cdc 10/ankyrin repeat region within the intracellular domain plays an essential role in the postulated signal transduction events.