FB2026_02 , released June 18, 2026
Human Disease Model Report: cancer, intestinal stem cell, NOTCH-related
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General Information
Name
cancer, intestinal stem cell, NOTCH-related
FlyBase ID
FBhh0001354
Disease Ontology Term
Parent Disease
OMIM
Overview

The Drosophila posterior midgut is closely analogous to the mammalian small intestine; the midgut epithelium is maintained by frequent division of self-renewing intestinal stem cells (ISCs). Development of differentiated absorptive and secretory gut cell types requires Notch signaling; loss of Notch (N) function in the posterior midgut results in stem cell tumor formation. Tumor growth correlates with an expansion of tracheal cell branching, similar to increased angiogenesis observed for human cancers.

Up to 10% of aged wild-type males are found to have at least one stem-cell tumor in the gut. Since N is sex-linked, Drosophila males are susceptible to effects of spontaneous somatic loss of the N gene. Many of the spontaneous tumors were shown to have genetic lesions that affected the Notch region.

This system has been used with targeted RNAi-effected loss of N expression in the ISCs to investigate triggers for and downstream effectors of stem cell tumorigenesis. Depletion of Notch causes multilayered midgut tumors populated by excess progenitor and enteroendocrine cells. Notch-defective ISC tumors have also been generated by tissue-specific CRISPR/Cas9 mutagenesis.

In contrast to intestines with a conventional microbiome, tumors rarely appear in Notch-depleted intestinal stem cells in age-matched, germ-free flies. This observation led to investigation of the role of the commensal bacterial species Lactobacillus brevis in the course of ISC tumorigenesis in flies.

[updated Jan. 2022 by FlyBase; FBrf0222196]

Disease Summary Information
Disease Summary: cancer, intestinal stem cell, NOTCH-related
OMIM report
Human gene(s) implicated
Symptoms and phenotype
Genetics
Cellular phenotype and pathology
Molecular information
External links
Disease synonyms
Ortholog Information
Human gene(s) in FlyBase
    Human gene (HGNC)
    D. melanogaster ortholog (based on DIOPT)
    Comments on ortholog(s)

    Many to one: 4 human genes to 1 Drosophila gene.

    Other mammalian ortholog(s) used
      D. melanogaster Gene Information (1)
      Gene Groups / Pathways
      Comments on ortholog(s)

      Moderate- to high-scoring ortholog of human NOTCH1, NOTCH2, NOTCH3, NOTCH4 (1 Drosophila to 4 human). Dmel\N shares 43-44% identity and 56-57% similarity with NOTCH1 and NOTCH2.

      Orthologs and Alignments from DRSC
      DIOPT - DRSC Integrative Ortholog Prediction Tool - Click the link below to search for orthologs in Humans
      Other Genes Used: Viral, Bacterial, Synthetic (0)
        Summary of Physical Interactions (58 groups)
        protein-protein
        Interacting group
        Assay
        References
        two hybrid, enzyme linked immunosorbent assay
        anti bait coimmunoprecipitation, western blot
        anti tag coimmunoprecipitation, western blot, anti tag western blot
        anti bait coimmunoprecipitation, western blot
        proximity ligation assay, fluorescence microscopy
        anti tag coimmunoprecipitation, anti tag western blot
        anti tag coimmunoprecipitation, anti tag western blot
        anti tag coimmunoprecipitation, anti tag western blot
        anti tag coimmunoprecipitation, anti tag western blot
        pull down, western blot
        experimental knowledge based
        pull down, western blot, anti tag coimmunoprecipitation
        anti tag coimmunoprecipitation, autoradiography, western blot, two hybrid, anti bait coimmunoprecipitation
        proximity ligation assay, fluorescence microscopy
        affinity technology, tag visualisation by alkaline phosphatase activity
        anti bait coimmunoprecipitation, western blot, pull down, anti tag coimmunoprecipitation, autoradiography
        phenotype-based detection assay, anti bait coimmunoprecipitation, western blot, bead aggregation assay, fluorescence microscopy, inferred by author, enzyme linked immunosorbent assay, cross-linking study, affinity technology, atomic force microscopy, pull down, tag visualisation by alkaline phosphatase activity, tag visualisation
        pull down, western blot, anti bait coimmunoprecipitation, two hybrid, autoradiography
        two hybrid, cosedimentation in solution, predetermined participant, anti tag coimmunoprecipitation, western blot, anti tag western blot, nuclear magnetic resonance
        anti tag coimmunoprecipitation, western blot, proximity ligation assay, fluorescence microscopy
        anti bait coimmunoprecipitation, anti tag western blot, anti tag coimmunoprecipitation, western blot, two hybrid
        pull down, western blot, two hybrid, anti tag coimmunoprecipitation
        protease assay, western blot, inferred by author
        anti tag coimmunoprecipitation, anti tag western blot
        protein three hybrid, three hybrid, anti tag coimmunoprecipitation, peptide massfingerprinting
        two hybrid, anti bait coimmunoprecipitation, western blot
        pull down, western blot
        pull down, western blot
        pull down, western blot
        coimmunoprecipitation, western blot
        anti tag coimmunoprecipitation, western blot
        anti tag coimmunoprecipitation, western blot, pull down
        two hybrid, pull down, autoradiography
        anti tag coimmunoprecipitation, western blot, anti tag western blot
        anti tag coimmunoprecipitation, western blot
        experimental knowledge based
        experimental knowledge based
        anti tag coimmunoprecipitation, anti tag western blot
        anti bait coimmunoprecipitation, western blot
        anti tag coimmunoprecipitation, western blot
        affinity technology, tag visualisation by alkaline phosphatase activity, pull down, fluorescence microscopy, inferred by author, tag visualisation, bead aggregation assay, anti bait coimmunoprecipitation, cross-linking study, western blot, anti tag coimmunoprecipitation, confocal microscopy
        anti bait coimmunoprecipitation, western blot
        anti bait coimmunoprecipitation, western blot, anti tag coimmunoprecipitation, anti tag western blot, pull down
        nuclear magnetic resonance, pull down, molecular weight estimation by staining, isothermal titration calorimetry, predetermined participant, autoradiography, western blot
        anti bait coimmunoprecipitation, western blot, pull down, autoradiography, anti tag coimmunoprecipitation, isothermal titration calorimetry, predetermined participant, two hybrid, coimmunoprecipitation, protein three hybrid, anti tag western blot, electrophoretic mobility shift assay, electrophoretic mobility supershift assay, peptide massfingerprinting, three hybrid, cosedimentation, molecular sieving, molecular weight estimation by staining, electron microscopy
        anti tag coimmunoprecipitation, anti tag western blot
        anti tag coimmunoprecipitation, western blot, pull down, two hybrid
        anti bait coimmunoprecipitation, western blot
        anti tag coimmunoprecipitation, anti tag western blot
        anti tag coimmunoprecipitation, anti tag western blot
        anti tag coimmunoprecipitation, anti tag western blot
        anti bait coimmunoprecipitation, cross-linking study, western blot
        inferred by author, confocal microscopy, bead aggregation assay
        proximity ligation assay, fluorescence microscopy
        anti bait coimmunoprecipitation, western blot, anti tag western blot, Identification by mass spectrometry
        RNA-protein
        Interacting group
        Assay
        References
        nucleic acid uv cross-linking assay, autoradiography, anti bait coimmunoprecipitation, quantitative reverse transcription pcr
        pull down, quantitative reverse transcription pcr
        Alleles Reported to Model Human Disease (Disease Ontology) (25 alleles)
        Models Based on Experimental Evidence ( 13 )
        Allele
        Disease
        Evidence
        References
        Modifiers Based on Experimental Evidence ( 22 )
        Allele
        Disease
        Interaction
        References
        is exacerbated by CatHMS00990
        is ameliorated by CatUAS.cUa
        is exacerbated by Sod2HMS00499
        is ameliorated by Sod2UAS.cMa
        is exacerbated by cncHMS00650
        is ameliorated by cncUAS.cSa
        ameliorates  carcinoma
        Alleles Representing Disease-Implicated Variants
        Genetic Tools, Stocks and Reagents
        Sources of Stocks
        Contact lab of origin for a reagent not available from a public stock center.
        Bloomington Stock Center Disease Page
        Related mammalian, viral, bacterial, or synthetic transgenes
        Allele
        Transgene
        Publicly Available Stocks
        Selected Drosophila transgenes
        Allele
        Transgene
        Publicly Available Stocks
        RNAi constructs available
        Allele
        Transgene
        Publicly Available Stocks
        Selected Drosophila classical alleles
        Allele
        Allele class
        Mutagen
        Publicly Available Stocks
        amorphic allele - genetic evidence
        Delta2-3 transposase
        loss of function allele
        spontaneous
        loss of function allele
        spontaneous
        amorphic allele - genetic evidence
        X ray
        loss of function allele
        X ray
        loss of function allele
        ethyl methanesulfonate
        amorphic allele - genetic evidence
        gamma ray
        loss of function allele
        X ray
        loss of function allele
        X ray
        loss of function allele
        X ray
        loss of function allele
        X ray
        loss of function allele
        ethyl methanesulfonate
        loss of function allele
        ethyl methanesulfonate
        amorphic allele - genetic evidence
        X ray
        loss of function allele
        X ray
        loss of function allele
        ethyl methanesulfonate
        loss of function allele
        loss of function allele
        X ray
        loss of function allele
        X ray
        loss of function allele
        ethyl methanesulfonate
        loss of function allele
        X ray
        loss of function allele
        X ray
        loss of function allele
        loss of function allele
        loss of function allele
        ethyl methanesulfonate
        loss of function allele
        X ray
        amorphic allele - genetic evidence
        loss of function allele
        spontaneous
        loss of function allele
        ethyl methanesulfonate
        loss of function allele
        X ray
        loss of function allele
        X ray
        loss of function allele
        ethyl methanesulfonate
        amorphic allele - genetic evidence
        References (23)