Monoclonal antibody-mediated manipulation as a tool for dissecting geneticpathways underlying specific embryonic processes

The technology to produce monoclonal antibody (mAb) is one of mainstays sup porting current biology. Identification and isolation of a specific molecul e in situations where many other molecules coexist is the most popular way of using this technology. Some mAb can trigger or suppress the function of a given molecule, thus having a potential for use in manipulating developme ntal processes. A decade ago, we demonstrated that embryonic components of pigment cell development could be manipulated by injection of a mAb that in hibits the function of the c-Kit tyrosine kinase receptor (RTK) into pregna nt mice. While we believe that no other methods were available at that time to freely trigger or suppress the function of such molecules as c-Kit, mol ecular genetic technologies enabling the same task have been developed rece ntly. In this article, we want to give a general overview of our previous experie nce of using mAb for manipulating embryonic processes, and discuss the pote ntial of this technology in the age of new molecular genetics.