The intracellular region of Notch ligands: Does the tail make the difference?

Abstract

The cytoplasmic tail of Notch ligands drives endocytosis, mediates association with proteins implicated in the organization of cell-cell junctions and, through regulated intra-membrane proteolysis, is released from the membrane as a signaling fragment. We survey these findings and discuss the role of Notch ligands intracellular region in bidirectional signaling and possibly in signal modulation in mammals. © 2007 Pintar et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.