Scientific background: |
DLL1(DELTA-LIKE 1) also known as DL1 or DELTA1, is a protein that in humans is encoded by the DLL1 gene. DLL1 is a human homolog of the Notch Delta ligand and is a member of the delta/serrate/jagged family. It plays a role in mediating cell fate decisions during hematopoiesis. It may play a role in cell-to-cell communication. Using FISH, Gray et al. (1999) mapped the DLL1 gene to chromosome 6q27, near a locus for type I diabetes. Functional analysis by Han et al. (2000) suggested that a soluble fusion protein containing the DSL domain of DLL1 and its adjacent 50 N-terminal amino acids increased the viability of hemopoietic cells but inhibited cell death. Jaleco et al. (2001) used a cell coculture assay to show that DLL1 blocks the differentiation of progenitor cells into the B-cell lineage while promoting the emergence of a population of cells with the characteristics of a T-cell/NK-cell precursor. In contrast, JAG1 did not disturb either B-cell or T-cell/NK-cell development. Galceran et al. found that mouse Lef1 bound multiple sites in the Dll1 promoter in vitro and in vivo, and mutation of the Lef1 sites impaired expression of a reporter transgene in the presomitic mesoderm of embryonic mice. |
References: |
1. Gray, G. E., Mann, R. S., Mitsiadis, E., Henrique, D., Carcangiu, M.-L., Banks, A., Leiman, J., Ward, D., Ish-Horowitz, D., Artavanis-Tsakonas, S. Human ligands of the Notch receptor. Am. J. Path. 154: 785-794, 1999.
2. Han, W., Ye, Q., Moore, M. A. S. A soluble form of human Delta-like-1 inhibits differentiation of hematopoietic progenitor cells. Blood 95: 1616-1625, 2000.
3. Jaleco, A. C., Neves, H., Hooijberg, E., Gameiro, P., Clode, N., Haury, M., Henrique, D., Parreira, L. Differential effects of Notch ligands Delta-1 and Jagged-1 in human lymphoid differentiation. J. Exp. Med. 194: 991-1001, 2001.
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