Wednesday, March 19, 2014

From NYU: Notch signaling: switching an oncogene to a tumor suppressor

 2014 Mar 7. [Epub ahead of print]

Notch signaling: switching an oncogene to a tumor suppressor.

Author information

  • 1Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Department of Pathology, NYU School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States;

Abstract

The Notch signaling pathway is a regulator of self renewal and differentiation in several tissues and cell types. Notch is a binary cell fate determinant and its hyper-activation has been implicated as oncogenic in several cancers including breast cancer and T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Recently several studies also unraveled tumor suppressor roles for Notch signaling in different tissues, including tissues where it was before recognized as an oncogene in specific lineages. Whereas involvement of Notch as an oncogene in several lymphoid malignancies (T-ALL, B-chronic lymphocytic leukemia, splenic marginal zone lymphoma) is well characterized, there is growing evidence involving Notch signaling as a tumor suppressor in myeloid malignancies. It therefore appears that Notch signaling pathway's oncogenic or tumor suppressor abilities are highly context dependent. In this review we summarize and discuss latest advances in the understanding of this dual role in hematopoiesis and the possible consequences for the treatment of hematological malignancies.

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