Studies of Cell Fate Determination in Mammalian System with Focus on Notch Mediated Signal Transduction
Vertebrate homologs of Notch have been cloned from many organisms and experimental data suggest that a conserved signal transduction pathway is involved in cell fate selection during vertebrate development. The laboratory of Dr. Raphael Kopan (Molecular Biology and Pharmacology and Department of Internal Medicine/Dermatology) is dissecting the biochemical steps involved in the signal transduction by Notch, and has demonstrated that Notch signaling is propagated through release of its intracellular domain. Many known signaling pathway are active in skin differentiation. The laboratory has generated transgenic animals expressing Notch in a single cell type within the follicle and is analyzing its phenotype. Preliminary analysis shows that altering Notch expression effects follicle architecture.
