Antibodies to cell surface ganglioside GD3 perturb inductive epithelial-mesenchymal interactions

Abstract Most epithelial sheets emerge during embryogenesis by a branching and growth of the epithelium. The surrounding mesenchyme is crucial for this process. We report that branching morphogenesis and the formation of a new epithelium from the mesenchyme in the embryonic kidney can be blocked by a monoclonal antibody reacting with a surface glycolipid, disialoganglioside G D3 . In contrast, a more than 10-fold excess of antibodies to adhesive glycoproteins (N-CAM, L -CAM, fibronectin) fails to inhibit morphogenesis. Although the anti-G D3 antibody affected epithelial development, the disialoganglioside G D3 was expressed not in the epithelium, but in the mesenchyme surrounding the develo…