Alteration of Notch signaling in skeletal development and disease

J Tao, S Chen, B Lee - Annals of the New York Academy of …, 2010 - Wiley Online Library
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 2010Wiley Online Library
Notch signaling is an evolutionarily conserved mechanism for specifying and regulating
organogenesis and tissue renewal. Human and mouse genetic studies have demonstrated
mutations in many components of the Notch signaling pathway that cause skeletal
patterning defects. More recently, the in vivo effects of Notch signaling on osteoblast
specification, proliferation, and differentiation have been demonstrated in addition to its
regulation of osteoclast activity. However, while our understanding of canonical Notch …
Notch signaling is an evolutionarily conserved mechanism for specifying and regulating organogenesis and tissue renewal. Human and mouse genetic studies have demonstrated mutations in many components of the Notch signaling pathway that cause skeletal patterning defects. More recently, the in vivo effects of Notch signaling on osteoblast specification, proliferation, and differentiation have been demonstrated in addition to its regulation of osteoclast activity. However, while our understanding of canonical Notch signaling in skeletal biology is rapidly evolving, the role of noncanonical Notch signaling is still poorly understood. In a pathologic context, aberration of Notch signaling is also associated with osteosarcoma. These studies raise the question of how Notch may interact with other signaling pathways, such as Wnt. Finally, manipulation of Notch signaling for bone‐related diseases remains complex because of the temporal and context‐dependent nature of Notch signaling during mesenchymal stem cell and osteoblast differentiation.
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