rat monoclonal IgG2b; Basement membranes are the earliest extracellular matrices produced during embryogenesis. They are synthesized and incorporated into the supramolecular architecture of several components, including laminins, Collagen IV, Nidogen and proteoglycans. Nidogen/Entactin, a sulfated glycoprotein, acts as a link between the extracellular matrix molecules Laminin 1 and Collagen Type IV, and thereby participates in the assembly of basement membranes. Nidogen is a highly conserved member of the Nidogen family, which also includes Nidogen-2. Nidogen-2 has a high level of N- and O-glycosylation, and it interacts with Collagens Type I and IV and Perlecan at a comparable level to Nidogen. Nidogen is synthesized and secreted in primary and established mesenchymal peritubular cells and myoepithelial cells, and it affects adhesion of peritubular cells in an autocrine manner. Nidogen is expressed during embryonic and fetal development exclusively in fully developed basement membranes of the ectoderm and is not expressed in the developing endodermal basement membrane or in membranes disrupted during mesoderm formation. Nidogen also cooperates with Laminin 1 to regulate b-casein expression.