Interactive Notch Signaling Pathway
The Notch signaling pathway is an evolutionarily conserved pathway operating in multicellular organisms. This pathway plays a significant role in cell differentiation during embryonic development and maintenance of adult tissue homeostasis. Notch receptors are single-pass transmembrane proteins that bind in calcium-dependent, non-covalent interactions with Notch proteins to activate signaling. This pathway is of enduring interest to pharmaceutical researchers due to its regulatory effects on neurological, cell growth, and cardiovascular systems related to human diseases. Notch signaling promotes cellular proliferation during neurogenesis, and is inhibited by the protein Numb to promote neural differentiation. Key mutations in Notch receptors leader to deposition of proteins common in leukemias and lymphomas, and both Notch receptor and ligand mutations have been tied to disorders including Aagille syndrome and pathologies of the cerebral arteries.