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Radial glia functions as neural progenitors and as scaffolding supporting neuronal migration during CNS development. A study identifies brain lipid-binding protein as the first predominantly CNS-specific Notch target gene and mediates some aspects of Notch signaling in radial glia.

The mouse embryos heterozygous for a targeted mutation in the gene encoding the DLL4 ligand exhibit happloinsufficient lethality because of defects in vascular remodeling is reported. Notch pathway mutant embryos exhibit defects in arterial specification of nascent blood vessels and develop arteriovenous malformations.

Research has been conducted on the role of the Notch4 gene in the intercellular signaling mechanism. The generation of the Notch4-deficient mice by gene targeting is described.

The mouse Nkx3.1 (ital) homeobox gene has roles in prostate development and in cancer. This gene is the earliest known marker of prostate epithelium in embryogenesis and is expressed after that at all stages of prostate differentiation in vivo and in tissue recombinants. NKX3.1 (ital) may be a prostate-specific tumor suppressor gene. Loss a single allele may constitute a predisposition to carcinogenesis in the prostate.

Jagged2 gene and Notch signaling, which is a intercellular signaling mechanism, play an important part in the limb, thymic and craniofacial development of mice. Mutant mice without a domain of the Jagged2 protein had fatal defects in craniofacial morphogenesis. The mice also had fusion in the limbs and modified thymic morphology.

Notch3 is required to generate functional arteries in mice by regulating arterial differentiation and maturation of vascular smooth muscle cells (vSMC) and that Notch3 is required for arterial specification of vSMC but not of endothelial cells. The data from observation on Notch3 mice reveal Notch3 to be first cell-autonomous regulator of arterial differentiation and maturation of vSMC.

Research has been conducted on left-right asymmetry generation in the vertebrate body. The authors demonstrate that Notch signaling is important for the asymmetry establishment in mice carrying it out via Nodal gene expression regulation.