The Notch pathway plays a crucial and universal role in the assignation of cell fates during development. In Drosophila, Notch is a transmembrane protein that acts as a receptor of two ligands Serrate and delta. The current model of Notch signal transduction proposes that Notch is activated upon binding its ligands and that this leads to the cleavage and release of its intracellular domain (also called Nintra). Nintra translocates to the nucleus where it forms a dimeric transcription activator with the Su(H) protein. In contrast with this activation model, experiments with the vertebrate homologue of Su(H), CBF1, suggest that, in vertebrates, Nintra converts CBF1 from a repressor into an activator. Here we have assessed the role of Su(H) in Notch signalling during the development of the wing of Drosophila. Our results show that, during this process, Su(H) can activate the expression of some Notch target genes and that it can do so without the activation of the Notch pathway or the presence of Nintra. In contrast, the activation of other Notch target genes requires both Su(H) and Nintra, and, in the absence of Nintra, Su(H) acts as a repressor. We also find that the Hairless protein interacts with Notch signalling during wing development and inhibits the activity of Su(H). Our results suggest that, in Drosophila, the activation of Su(H) by Notch involve the release of Su(H) from an inhibitory complex, which contains the Hairless protein. After its release Su(H) can activate gene expression in absence of Nintra.
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