Notch and Minichromosome Maintenance (MCM) Proteins: Integration of Two Ancestral Pathways in Cell Cycle Control

Michela Noseda and Aly Karsan

volume 5 | issue 23

1 december 2006
Pages: 2704 - 2709

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Notch transmembrane receptors govern a highly evolutionarily conserved intercellular signaling mechanism activated by the engagement of Notch receptors by their cognate ligands expressed on neighboring cells. The subsequently cleaved intracellular domain of Notch receptors translocates to the nucleus where it interacts with the transcriptional regulator CSL, thereby regulating expression of target genes. The Notch pathway controls cell fate by regulating proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. Mini-chromosome maintenance (MCM) proteins are components of the pre-replicative complex (pre-RC) that are essential for DNA replication. It has recently been shown that activated Notch downregulates mini-chromosome-maintenance (MCM) proteins MCM2 and MCM6 by a CSL-dependent mechanism. Here, we review the canonical pathway mediated by Notch receptors and discuss recent findings connecting the Notch pathway with the ancestral MCM complex during cell cycle progression.

Authors

Michela Noseda

Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX

Aly Karsan

British Columbia Cancer Agency, Vancouver, BC, Canada

We now provide open access to journal articles published online for one year or more. This article may be downloaded at the following link: