Fig. 1

The diagrams of Notch and Wnt pathways. a The Notch receptor and ligand are localized at the plasma membranes of neighboring cells. Their binding triggers the sequential cleavage of Notch receptor by ADAM family of metalloproteases and γ-secretase, leading to the release of Notch intracellular domain (NICD), which translocates into the nucleus and facilitates the CSL (CBF1/Su(H)/LAG1) transcription factor, along with the coactivator Mastermind-like (MAML), to activate the transcription of target genes. b Without Wnt ligand, β-catenin is hyperphosphorylated within a cytoplasmic destruction complex including Dishevelled (Dvl), Axin, casein kinase 1 (CK1), Adenomatous Polyposis Coli (APC) and glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK3), and then degraded via the ubiquitin/proteasome pathway. When Wnt ligand binds to a seven-pass transmembrane receptor Frizzled (Fz) and a single-pass transmembrane co-receptor low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein (LRP), the Dvl/Axin/CK1/APC/GSK3 complex is dissociated, allowing β-catenin to accumulate in the cytoplasm and subsequently translocate into the nucleus, where β-catenin interacts with transcriptional factors, such as lymphoid enhancer-binding factor1/T cell-specific transcription factor (LEF/TCF), to induce the expression of target genes