Yl. Liu et al., EPITHELIAL EXPRESSION AND CHROMOSOMAL LOCATION OF HUMAN TLE GENES - IMPLICATIONS FOR NOTCH SIGNALING AND NEOPLASIA, Genomics, 31(1), 1996, pp. 58-64
The TLE genes are the human homologues of Drosophila groucho, a member
of the Notch signaling pathway. This pathway controls a number of dif
ferent cell-fate choices in invertebrates and vertebrates. We are inte
rested in investigating the functions of the TLE gene family during ep
ithelial determination and carcinogenesis. We show that expression of
individual TLE genes correlates with immature epithelial cells that ar
e progressing toward their terminally differentiated state, suggesting
a role during epithelial differentiation. In both normal tissues and
conditions resulting from incorrect or incomplete maturation events, s
uch as metaplastic and neoplastic transformations, TLE expression is e
levated and coincides with Notch expression, implicating these molecul
es in the maintenance of the undifferentiated state in epithelial cell
s. We also show that TLE1 and TLE2 are organized in a tandem array at
chromosomal location 19p13.3, while TLE3 maps to 15q22. (C) 1996 Acade
mic Press, Inc.