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© The Rockefeller University Press,
0021-9525/2001/7/257 $5.00
The Journal of Cell Biology, Volume 154, Number 2, July 23, 2001 257-260
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Mystery solved
: discovery of a novel integrin ligand in the developing kidney
Address correspondence to Jeffrey H. Miner, Washington University School of Medicine, Renal Division, Box 8126, 660 South Euclid Ave., St. Louis, MO 63110. Tel.: (314) 362-8235. Fax: (314) 362-8237. E-mail: minerj{at}pcg.wustl.edu
Mutant mice lacking the integrin
8 subunit exhibit variable defects in kidney development with most mutants missing both kidneys. Several lines of evidence indicate that the known extracellular matrix ligands for integrin
8ß1 are either dispensable for or not involved in
8ß1 signaling during kidney development. This suggests the presence of an unknown ligand. A novel
8ß1 ligand, nephronectin, has now been identified. Nephronectin is a new extracellular matrix protein associated with the Wolffian duct and the ureteric bud, epithelial structures with well-defined roles in kidney development.
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