Notch signaling: Multifaceted role in development and disease.

Notch pathway is an evolutionarily conserved signaling system that operates to influence an astonishing array of cell fate decisions in different developmental contexts. Notch signaling plays important roles in many developmental processes, making it difficult to name a tissue or a developing organ that does not depend on Notch function at one stage or another. Thus, dysregulation of Notch signaling is associated with many developmental defects and various pathological conditions, including cancer. Although many recent advances have been made to reveal different aspects of the Notch signaling mechanism and its intricate regulation, there are still many unanswered questions related to how the Notch signaling pathway functions in so many developmental events. The same pathway can be deployed in numerous cellular contexts to play varied and critical roles in an organism's development and this is only possible due to the complex regulatory mechanisms of the pathway. In this review, we provide an overview of the mechanism and regulation of the Notch signaling pathway along with its multifaceted functions in different aspects of development and disease.