Figure 1.

Basic principles of Delta-Notch signaling. Notch is a cell-surface receptor whose ligand Delta is also expressed on the cell surface. Binding of Delta to Notch activates cleavage of Notch at the membrane, thereby releasing the Notch intracellular domain (NICD), which migrates to the nucleus where it functions in transcriptional regulation. The detached extracellular fragment of Notch, NECD, along with Delta, is endocytosed into the Delta-expressing cell.