Notch signaling in induced pluripotent stem cells

Notch signaling is a conserved pathway among species ranging from fruit flies to mammals. Notch is a unique pathway that required direct cell-to-cell contact in order to activate intracellular signaling. Binding of Notch receptors to ligands results in the release of Notch intracellular domain from the transmembrane domain. Notch intracellular domain then further translocates into the nucleus and forms complex with other factors, leading to target gene activation. Notch controls stem cell behavior in cell type and stage-specific manner. Modulation of Notch signaling affects the generation efficacy, stemness maintenance, and specific lineage differentiation of induced pluripotent stem cells. This chapter reviews the basic knowledge of Notch signaling, the effect of Notch signaling in stemness maintenance and differentiation. Role of Notch signaling in induced pluripotent stem cells is also described.