SCATTER FACTOR HEPATOCYTE GROWTH-FACTOR IS ESSENTIAL FOR LIVER DEVELOPMENT/

POLYPEPTIDE growth factors are important effecters of cell growth and differentiation in vitro and are thought to be critical for processes such as specification of cell fate, tissue growth and organogenesis in vivo, Scatter factor(1-3)/hepatocyte growth factor(4,5) (SF/HGF) is t he prototype of an emerging family of growth factors that resemble in their domain structure and mechanism of activation the blood proteinas e plasminogen(6,7). The cellular responses of SF/HGF are mediated by t he c-Met tyrosine kinase receptor(8-10). Here we report that mice lack ing SF/HGF fail to complete development and die in utero. The mutation affects the embryonic liver, which is reduced in size and shows exten sive loss of parenchymal cells, In addition, development of the placen ta, particularly of trophoblast cells, is impaired. Thus, SF/HGF is es sential for the development of several epithelial organs.