Notch signaling: targeting cancer stem cells and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition

Ingrid Espinoza,1,2 Radhika Pochampally,1,2 Fei Xing,1 Kounosuke Watabe,1,3 Lucio Miele1,4 1Cancer Institute, 2Department of Biochemistry, 3Department of Microbiology, 4Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, USA Abstract: Notch signaling is an evolutionarily conserved pathway involved in cell fate control during development, stem cell self-renewal, and postnatal tissue differentiation. Roles for Notch in carcinogenesis, the biology of cancer stem cells, tumor angiogenesis, and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) have been reported. This review describes the role of Notch in the “stemness” program in cancer cells and in metastases, together with a brief update on the Notch inhibitors currently under investigation in oncology. These agents may be useful in targeting cancer stem cells and to reverse the EMT process. Keywords: Notch signaling, EMT, cancer stem cells, mesenchymal stem cells, metastases, Notch inhibitor