![Sugar Modification Essential for Notch Signaling]()
Normal development of mammals and other multicellular organisms depend on Notch—a large cell-surface receptor that enables cells to communicate with each other. In a paper published online on April 11 in eLife, researchers led by Pamela Stanley, Ph.D., and Tetsuya Okajima, M.D., Ph.D., of Nagoya University, looked at how glycan modifications of Notch affect its cell-signaling ability. The researchers showed that, in the development of the retina, Notch-regulated signaling depends on the presence of the sugar O-GlcNAc on certain epidermal growth factor-like (EGF) repeats of the extracellular domain of Notch1. Cell-based assays showed that Delta Notch ligands (molecules that bind to and activate receptors) recognize O-GlcNAc on Notch1. The deletion of O-GlcNAc leads to a decrease in signaling that causes defects in perinatal retinal development. Dr. Stanley is professor of cell biology and the Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation Chair.
Posted on: Wednesday, April 26, 2017