Department of Dermatology, The Saarland University Hospital, Homburg, Germany.
Adv Exp Med Biol. 2020;1218:1-7. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-34436-8_1.
The attention of science first turned to the gene that later earned the name Notch over a century ago, when the American scientist John S. Dexter discovered in his laboratory at Olivet College the characteristic notched-wing phenotype (a nick or notch in the wingtip) in mutant fruit flies Drosophila melanogaster. At present, it is generally accepted that the Notch pathway governs tissue patterning and many key cell fate decisions and other core processes during embryonic development and in adult tissues. Not surprisingly, a broad variety of independent inherited diseases (including CADASIL, Alagille, Adams-Oliver, and Hajdu-Cheney syndromes) have now convincingly been linked to defective Notch signaling. In the second edition of the book entitled Notch Signaling in Embryology and Cancer, leading researchers provide a comprehensive, highly readable overview on molecular mechanisms of Notch signaling (Volume I), and notch's roles in embryology (Vol. II) and cancer (Vol. III). In these introductory pages of Vol. II, we give a short overview on its individual chapters, which are intended to provide both basic scientists and clinicians who seek today's clearest understanding of the broad role of Notch signaling in embryology with an authoritative day-to-day source.
一个多世纪以前，美国科学家约翰·S·德克斯特（John S. Dexter）在奥列特学院（Olivet College）的实验室中发现，突变果蝇（Drosophila melanogaster）的翅膀尖端出现了特征性的缺口表型（翼尖的缺口或切痕），这引起了科学界的关注。这个基因后来被命名为 Notch。目前，人们普遍认为 Notch 途径控制着组织模式以及胚胎发育和成人组织中的许多关键细胞命运决定和其他核心过程。毫不奇怪，现在已经有大量独立的遗传疾病（包括 CADASIL、Alagille、Adams-Oliver 和 Hajdu-Cheney 综合征）与 Notch 信号传导缺陷有明确的关联。在题为《胚胎学和癌症中的 Notch 信号转导》的第二版中，主要研究人员提供了 Notch 信号转导的分子机制（第一卷）和 notch 在胚胎学中的作用（第二卷）以及癌症（第三卷）的全面、高度可读的概述。在第二卷的这些引言页面中，我们简要概述了其各个章节，旨在为寻求对 Notch 信号转导在胚胎学中的广泛作用的最清晰理解的基础科学家和临床医生提供权威的日常资源。
