Abstract. Metanephrogenesis has been a long-standing model to study cell-matrix interactions. A number of adhesion molecules, including matrix receptors (i.e., integrins), are believed to be involved in such interactions. The integrins contain a and ~ subunits and are present in various tissues in different heterodimeric forms. In this study, one of the members of the integrin superfamily, av, was characterized, and its relevance in murine nephrogenesis was investigated. Mouse embryonic renal eDNA libraries were prepared and screened for av, and multiple clones were isolated and sequenced. The deduced amino acid sequence of the et v cDNA clones and hydropathic analysis revealed that it has a typical signal sequence and extracellular, transmembrane, and cytoplasmic domains, with multiple Ca 2÷ binding sites. No A(U)nA mRNA instability motifs were present. Conformational analysis revealed no rigid long-range-ordered structure in murine O~v. The O~v was expressed in the embryonic kidney at day 13 of the gestation, with a transcript size of ~7 kb. Its expression increased progressively during the later gestational stages and in the neonatal period. It was distributed in the epithelial elements of developing nephrons and was absent in the uninduced mesenchyme. In mature metanephroi, the expression was relatively high in the glomeruli and blood vessels, as compared to the tubules. Various heterodimeric associations of av, i.e., with [31, [33, [35, and [36, were observed in metanephric tissues. Inclusion of av-antisense-oligodeoxynucleotide or -antibody in metanephric culture induced dysmorphogenesis of the kidney with reduced population of the nephrons, disorganization of the ureteric bud branches, and reduction of mRNA and protein expressions of etv. The expressions of integrin [33, [35, and 136 were unaltered. These findings suggest that the integrin av is developmentally regulated, has a distinct spatio-temporal expression, and is relevant in the mammalian organogenesis.URING development, the interactions between cell adhesion molecules and extraceUular matrix (ECM) 1 glycoproteins are believed to be essential for the morphogenesis of various organs (Hay, 1991;Humphries et al., 1991;Reichardt and Tomaselli, 1991;Ruoslahti, 1991;Toole, 1991;Hynes, 1992;Juliano and Haskill, 1993;Kramer et al., 1993;Gladson and Cheresh, 1994;Hemler et al., 1994;Quaranta et al., 1994). The maturation of the mammalian metanephros constitutes many of the steps which are prototypic of the events relevant to the development of other organ systems (Ekblom, 1993;Clapp and Abrahamson, 1994). The renal organogenesis ensues after an initial reciprocal induction between the metanephric Address all correspondence to Dr. Y.S. Kanwar, Department of Pathology, Northwestern University Medical School, 303 East Chicago Avenue, Chicago, IL 60611. Tel.: (312) 503-0084. Fax: (312) 503-0627.1. Abbreviations used in this paper: ECM, extracellular matrix; ODN, oligodeoxynucleotide; RT, reverse transcriptase. mesenchyme and the ureteric bud, which leads to...