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Recent data have expanded our understanding of Notch signalling by identifying a C2 domain at the N-terminus of Notch ligands, which has both lipid- and receptor-binding properties. We present novel structures of human ligands Jagged2 and Delta-like4 and human Notch2, together with functional assays, which suggest that ligand-mediated coupling of membrane recognition and Notch binding is likely to be critical in establishing the optimal context for Notch signalling. Comparisons between the Jagged and Delta family show a huge diversity in the structures of the loops at the apex of the C2 domain implicated in membrane recognition and Jagged1 missense mutations, which affect these loops and are associated with extrahepatic biliary atresia, lead to a loss of membrane recognition, but do not alter Notch binding. Taken together, these data suggest that C2 domain binding to membranes is an important element in tuning ligand-dependent Notch signalling in different physiological contexts., (© 2017 The Authors. Published under the terms of the CC BY 4.0 license.)

The Notch signaling pathway is essential for many aspects of development, cell fate determination, and tissue homeostasis. Notch signaling can be modulated by posttranslational modifications to the Notch receptor, which are known to alter both ligand binding and receptor activation. We have modified the ligand-binding region (EGF domains 11-13) of human Notch1 (hN1) with O-fucose and O-glucose glycans and shown by flow cytometry and surface plasmon resonance that the Fringe-catalyzed addition of GlcNAc to the O-fucose at T466 in EGF12 substantially increases binding to Jagged1 and Delta-like 1 (DLL1) ligands. We have subsequently determined the crystal structures of EGF domains 11-13 of hN1 modified with either the O-fucose monosaccharide or the GlcNAc-fucose disaccharide at T466 of EGF12 and observed no change in backbone structure for each variant. Collectively, these data demonstrate a role for GlcNAc in modulating the ligand-binding site in hN1 EGF12, resulting in an increased affinity of this region for ligands Jagged1 and DLL1. We propose that this finding explains the Fringe-catalyzed enhancement of Notch-Delta signaling observed in flies and humans, but suggest that the inhibitory effect of Fringe on Jagged/Serrate mediated signaling involves other regions of Notch.