Previous models for signal transduction via the Notch pathway have dep
icted the full-length Notch receptor expressed at the cell surface. We
present evidence demonstrating that the Notch receptor on the plasma
membrane is cleaved. This cleavage is an evolutionarily conserved, gen
eral property of Notch and occurs in the trans-Golgi network as the re
ceptor traffics toward the plasma membrane. Although full-length Notch
is detectable in the cell, it does not reach the surface. Cleavage re
sults in a C-terminal fragment, N(TM), that appears to be cleaved N-te
rminal to the transmembrane domain, and an N-terminal fragment, N-EC,
that contains most of the extracellular region. We provide evidence th
at these fragments are tethered together on the plasma membrane by a l
ink that is sensitive to reducing conditions, forming a heterodimeric
receptor.