Zong et al. showed that overexpression of Notch1 with N1ICD in human pulmonary microvascular endothelial cells significantly alleviated the cell apoptosis induced by CSE, and concluded that Notch1 protects against CS-induced endothelial apoptosis in COPD through inhibiting the ERK pathway [39]. Here, NOTCH1 is linked to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.