Mechanisms of Non-canonical Signaling in Health and Disease: Diversity to Take Therapy up a Notch?

Mechanisms of Non-canonical Signaling in Health and Disease: Diversity to Take Therapy up a Notch? Adv Exp Med Biol. 2018;1066:187-204 Authors: Alfred V, Vaccari T Abstract Non-canonical Notch signaling encompasses a wide range of cellular processes, diverging considerably from the established paradigm. It can dispense of ligand, proteolytic or nuclear activity. Non-canonical Notch signaling events have been studied mostly in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, the organism in which Notch was identified first and a powerful model for understanding signaling outcomes. However, non-canonical events are ill-defined and their involvement in human physiology is not clear, hampering our understanding of diseases arising from Notch signaling alterations. At a time in which therapies based on specific targeting of Notch signaling are still an unfulfilled promise, detailed understanding of non-canonical Notch events might be key to devising more specific and less toxic pharmacologic options. Based on the blueprint of non-canonical signaling in Drosophila, here, we review and rationalize current evidence about non-canonical Notch signaling. Our effort might inform Notch biologists developing new research avenues and clinicians seeking future treatment of Notch-dependent diseases. PMID: 30030827 [PubMed - in process]
Source: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology - Category: Research Tags: Adv Exp Med Biol Source Type: research