Regulation of lymphocyte development by Notch signaling

Notch molecules are well conserved from Drosophila melanogaster to mammals and regulate a broad spectrum of various cell lineage commitment processes. Recent studies using inhibitors, transgenic mice and conditional loss-of-function approaches have demonstrated essential roles for Notch signaling in the differentiation of thymocytes and peripheral T cells, as well as B cells. Here we highlight parallels in the developmental regulation of mammalian lymphocytes and the D. melanogaster nervous system through Notch cooperation with the transcriptional regulators RBP-J (Su( H)), MINT (Hairless) and E2A (Ac-Sc-Da).

从黑腹果蝇到哺乳动物，Notch分子都高度保守，并调节着各种细胞谱系定型过程的广泛谱系。近期使用抑制剂、转基因小鼠以及条件性功能缺失方法的研究表明，Notch信号在胸腺细胞和外周T细胞以及B细胞的分化中具有重要作用。在此，我们强调通过Notch与转录调节因子RBP - J（Su(H)）、MINT（无毛基因）和E2A（Ac - Sc - Da）的协同作用，哺乳动物淋巴细胞和黑腹果蝇神经系统在发育调控方面的相似之处。