title: Role of mesenchymal nidogen for epithelial morphogenesis in vitro.
abstract: Recent biochemical studies suggested that the extracellular matrix protein nidogen is a binding molecule linking together basement membrane components. We studied its expression and role during development. By immunofluorescence and northern blotting, nidogen was found early during epithelial cell development of kidney and lung. Yet, in situ hybridization revealed that nidogen was not produced by epithelium but by the adjacent mesenchyme in both organs. Binding of mesenchymal nidogen to epithelial laminin may thus be a key event during epithelial development. This is supported by antibody perturbation experiments. Antibodies against the nidogen binding site on laminin B2 chain perturbed epithelial development in vitro in embryonic kidney and lung. Mesenchymal nidogen could be important for early stages of epithelial morphogenesis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Physiology, Uppsala University, Sweden.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ekblom
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ekblom
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fecker
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Klein
authors.forename: H Y
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kadoya
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Chu
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Mayer
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Timpl
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D001485:Basement Membrane / Q000502:physiology; D015152:Blotting, Northern; D046508:Culture Techniques; D004848:Epithelium / Q000737:chemistry / Q000502:physiology*; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D007668:Kidney / Q000737:chemistry / Q000196:embryology; D007797:Laminin / Q000502:physiology; D008168:Lung / Q000737:chemistry / Q000196:embryology; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000032:analysis / Q000502:physiology*; D008648:Mesoderm / Q000502:physiology*; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009024:Morphogenesis / Q000502:physiology; D015345:Oligonucleotide Probes
chemical_list: D007797:Laminin; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; D015345:Oligonucleotide Probes; C029967:nidogen