VERTEBRATE TISSUE PATTERN-INDUCING PROTEINS, AND USES RELATED THERETO

The present invention concerns the discovery that proteins encoded by a family of vertebrate genes, termed here hedgehog-related genes, comprise morphogenic signals produced by tissue patterning centers, and are involved in the formation of ordered spatial arrangements of differentiated tissues in vertebrates. The present invention makes available compositions and methods that can be utilized, for example to generate and/or maintain an array of different vetebrate tissue both in vitro and in vivo.