Notch signaling defines the cell-to-cell communication mechanism, which plays a central role during development and in normal tissue maintenance and cancer. Signals exchanged between neighboring cells via Notch can reinforce molecular differences which eventually direct the fate decision of individual cells. Despite increasing knowledge of these signaling events, little is known about how spatiotemporal dynamics of the receptor signaling across a cell influence the signal exchange. In this talk, we present an advanced nano-probe system that mimics binary cell communication via Notch, while providing systematic control of the spatiotemporal distribution of Notch signaling. This new nanosystem enabled simultaneous observation of Notch dynamics and signal activation with single molecule resolution in live cells for the first time. We envision this nano-probing system as a next generation force microscopy technology platform to quantify and control force-mediated biological processes at the subcellular level.

Regulating cell signaling in live cells at the single molecule level

247th National Meeting (2014)

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