Christel Brou

The regulation of Notch signaling heavily relies on ubiquitination events. Drosophila Su(dx), a member of the HECT family of ubiquitin-ligases, has been described as a negative regulator of Notch signaling, acting on the post-endocytic sorting of Notch. The mammalian ortholog of Su(dx), Itch/AIP4, has been shown to have multiple substrates, including Notch, but the precise events regulated by Itch/AIP4 in the Notch pathway have not been identified yet. Using Itch-/- fibroblasts expressing the Notch1 receptor, we show that Itch is not necessary for Notch activation, but rather for controlling the degradation of Notch in the absence of ligand. Itch is indeed required after the early steps of Notch endocytosis to target it to the lysosomes where it is degraded. Furthermore Itch/AIP4 catalyzes Notch polyubiquitination through unusual K29-linked chains. We also demonstrate that although Notch is associated with Itch/AIP4 in cells, their interaction is not detectable in vitro and thus requires either a post-translational modification, or a bridging factor that remains to be identified. Taken together our results identify a specific step of Notch regulation in the absence of any activation and underline differences between mammalian and Drosophila Notch pathways.

Deltex (DTX) and AIP4 are the human orthologues of the Drosophila deltex and Suppressor of deltex, which have been genetically described as being antagonistically involved in the Notch signalling pathway. Both genes encode E3 ubiquitin ligases of the RING (Really interesting new gene)‐H2 and HECT (Homologous to E6AP carboxyl terminus) families, respectively. In an attempt to understand the molecular basis of their genetic interactions, we studied the relationship between DTX and AIP4 in the absence of activation of the Notch pathway. We show here that both molecules interact and partially colocalize to endocytic vesicles, and that AIP4 targets DTX for lysosomal degradation. Furthermore, AIP4‐generated polyubiquitin chains are mainly conjugated through lysine 29 of ubiquitin in vivo , indicating a link between this type of chain and lysosomal degradation.

Activation of mammalian Notch receptor by its ligands induces TNFα-converting enzyme–dependent ectodomain shedding, followed by intramembrane proteolysis due to presenilin (PS)-dependent γ-secretase activity. Here, we demonstrate that a new modification, a monoubiquitination, as well as clathrin-dependent endocytosis, is required for γ-secretase processing of a constitutively active Notch derivative, ΔE, which mimics the TNFα-converting enzyme–processing product. PS interacts with this modified form of ΔE, ΔE^u. We identified the lysine residue targeted by the monoubiquitination event and confirmed its importance for activation of Notch receptor by its ligand, Delta-like 1. We propose a new model where monoubiquitination and endocytosis of Notch are a prerequisite for its PS-dependent cleavage, and discuss its relevance for other γ-secretase substrates.