title: Notch: architect, landscaper, and guardian of the intestine.
abstract: In the past decade, enormous progress has been made in understanding the role of stem cells in physiologic tissue renewal and in pathologic processes such as cancer. These findings have shed light on the identity and biological properties of such cells and the intrinsic and extrinsic signals that balance stem cell self-renewal with differentiation. With its astonishing self-renewal capacity, the intestinal epithelium has provided a unique model to study stem cell biology, lineage specification, and cancer. Here we review the role of Notch signaling in physiologic cell renewal and differentiation in the intestine as well as during its malignant transformation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiotherapy, Maastricht Radiation Oncology (MAASTRO)/GROW School for Developmental Biology and Oncology, Maastricht University Medical Center, Maastricht, The Netherlands. marc.vooijs@maastrichtuniversity.nl
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vooijs
authors.forename: Zhenyi
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Raphael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kopan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster; D006801:Humans; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000378:metabolism; D007422:Intestines / Q000196:embryology / Q000473:pathology* / Q000502:physiology*; D008024:Ligands; D051880:Receptors, Notch / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology*; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D008024:Ligands; D051880:Receptors, Notch