Notch receptors are conserved regulators of cell fate and have been implicated in the regulation of T cell differentiation and lymphomagenesis. However, neither the generality of Notch involvement in leukemia, nor the molecules with which Notch may interact have been clarified. Recently, we showed that transgenic mice expressing the constitutively active intracellular domain of Notch3 in thymocytes and T cells developed early and aggressive T cell neoplasias. Although primarily splenic, the tumors sustained features of immature thymocytes, including expression of pTα, a defining component of the pre T cell receptor, known to be a potent signaling complex provoking thymocyte survival, proliferation, and activation. Thus, enforced expression of Notch3, which is ordinarily down-regulated as thymocytes mature, may sustain pre T cell receptor expression, causing dysregulated hyperplasia. This hypothesis has been successfully tested in this article by the observation that deletion of pTα in Notch3 transgenic mice abrogates tumor development, indicating a crucial role for pTα in T cell leukemogenesis. Parallel observations were made in humans, in that all T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemias examined showed expression of Notch3 and of the Notch target gene HES-1, as well as of pTα a and b transcripts, whereas the expression of all these genes was dramatically reduced or absent in remission. Together, these results suggest that the combined expression of Notch3 and pTα sustains T cell leukemogenesis and may represent pathognomonic molecular features of human T-ALL.

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a subgroup of 15%-20% of diagnosed breast cancer patients. It is generally considered to be the most difficult breast cancer subtype to deal with, due to the lack of estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), which usually direct targeted therapies. In this scenario, the current treatments of TNBC-affected patients rely on tumor excision and conventional chemotherapy. As a result, the prognosis is overall poor. Thus, the identification and characterization of targets for novel therapies are urgently required. The Notch signaling pathway has emerged to act in the pathogenesis and tumor progression of TNBCs. Firstly, Notch receptors are associated with the regulation of tumor-initiating cells (TICs) behavior, as well as with the aetiology of TNBCs. Secondly, there is a strong evidence that Notch pathway is a relevant player in mammary cancer stem cells maintenance and expansion. Finally, Notch receptors expression and activation strongly correlate with the aggressive clinicopathological and biological phenotypes of breast cancer (e.g., invasiveness and chemoresistance), which are relevant characteristics of TNBC subtype. The purpose of this up-to-date review is to provide a detailed overview of the specific role of all four Notch receptors (Notch1, Notch2, Notch3, and Notch4) in TNBCs, thus identifying the Notch signaling pathway deregulation/activation as a pathognomonic feature of this breast cancer subtype. Furthermore, this review will also discuss recent information associated with different therapeutic options related to the four Notch receptors, which may be useful to evaluate prognostic or predictive indicators as well as to develop new therapies aimed at improving the clinical outcome of TNBC patients.

Notch signaling plays a critical role in T‐cell differentiation and leukemogenesis. We previously demonstrated that, while pre‐TCR is required for thymocytes proliferation and leukemogenesis, it is dispensable for thymocyte differentiation in Notch3‐transgenic mice. Notch3‐transgenic premalignant thymocytes and T lymphoma cells overexpress pTα/pre‐TCR and display constitutive activation of NF‐κB, providing survival signals for immature thymocytes. We provide genetic and biochemical evidence that Notch3 triggers multiple NF‐κB activation pathways. A pre‐TCR‐dependent pathway preferentially activates NF‐κB via IKKβ/IKKα/NIK complex, resulting in p50/p65 heterodimer nuclear entry and recruitment onto promoters of Cyclin D1, Bcl2‐A1 and IL7‐receptor‐α genes. In contrast, upon pTα deletion, Notch3 binds IKKα and maintains NF‐κB activation through an alternative pathway, depending on an NIK‐independent IKKα homodimer activity. The consequent NF‐κB2/p100 processing allows nuclear translocation of p52/RelB heterodimers, which only trigger transcription from Bcl2‐A1 and IL7‐receptor‐α genes. Our data suggest that a finely tuned interplay between Notch3 and pre‐TCR pathways converges on regulation of NF‐κB activity, leading to differential NF‐κB subunit dimerization that regulates distinct gene clusters involved in either cell differentiation or proliferation/leukemogenesis.

All-Trans Retinoic Acid (ATRA) is the most active metabolite of vitamin A. It is critically involved in the regulation of multiple processes, such as cell differentiation and apoptosis, by activating specific genomic pathways or by influencing key signaling proteins. Furthermore, mounting evidence highlights the anti-tumor activity of this compound. Notably, oral administration of ATRA is the first choice treatment in Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia (APL) in adults and NeuroBlastoma (NB) in children. Regrettably, the promising results obtained for these diseases have not been translated yet into the clinics for solid tumors. This is mainly due to ATRA-resistance developed by cancer cells and to ineffective delivery and targeting. This up-to-date review deals with recent studies on different ATRA-loaded Drug Delivery Systems (DDSs) development and application on several tumor models. Moreover, patents, pre-clinical, and clinical studies are also reviewed. To sum up, the main aim of this in-depth review is to provide a detailed overview of the several attempts which have been made in the recent years to ameliorate ATRA delivery and targeting in cancer.

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