Notch: architect, landscaper, and guardian of the intestine.

In the past decade, enormous progress has been made in understanding the role of stem cells in physiologic tissue renewal and in pathologic processes such as cancer. These findings have shed light on the identity and biological properties of such cells and the intrinsic and extrinsic signals that balance stem cell self-renewal with differentiation. With its astonishing self-renewal capacity, the intestinal epithelium has provided a unique model to study stem cell biology, lineage specification, and cancer. Here we review the role of Notch signaling in physiologic cell renewal and differentiation in the intestine as well as during its malignant transformation.