Establishing the First Neuronal Fate in the Developing Drosophila Retina

正常的胎儿发育需要许多分子精心编排的相互作用。近年来生物学家最重要的发现之一是，这些分子似乎像通路或“磁带”一样排列自己：一盒分子允许细胞之间的交流，而另一盒分子可能指导细胞的运动。凯根博士的实验室正在研究开发过程中使用最广泛的一种“磁带”——Notch通路。Notch通路在包括昆虫和人类在内的多种生物的大多数组织的形成中起着核心作用。这包括我们的免疫系统、肌肉组织、皮肤、心脏、神经系统等。Notch通路的缺陷与白血病有关，毫无疑问也与许多其他疾病有关。凯根博士的实验室使用了一个模型系统——果蝇发育中的眼睛——来研究Notch通路在发育过程中的作用。他们正在使用各种工具来了解“缺口盒”的不同分子成分如何相互作用。Notch功能异常导致眼睛异常。通过揭示眼睛中这一关键通路，凯根博士的研究将进一步加深我们对眼睛是如何形成的以及身体结构是如何正确组装的理解。

ABSTRACT 960490 CAGAN Normal fetal development requires a carefully choreographed interplay of many molecules. One of the most important discoveries biologists have made in recent years is that these molecules seem to arrange themselves as pathways or 'cassettes': one cassette of molecules allows cells to communicate with one another while another cassette might direct cell movement. Dr. Cagan's laboratory is studying one of the most widely used cassettes in development, the Notch pathway. The Notch pathway plays a central role in the making of most tissues in a wide variety of organisms, including insects and humans. This includes our immune system, musculature, skin, heart, nervous system, etc. Defects in the Notch pathway have been implicated in leukemias and are undoubtedly involved in a host of other diseases as well. Dr. Cagan's laboratory uses a model system, the developing eye of the fruitfly, Drosophila, to investigate the role of the Notch pathway in development. They are using a variety of tools to understand how the different molecular components of the 'Notch cassette' interact with one another. Abnormal Notch function results in an abnormal eye. By shedding light on this critical pathway in the eye, Dr. Cagan's research will further our understanding both of how the eye is made and how structures of the body are properly assembled.