Abstract: The present invention provides oligopeptides having morphogenesis promoting activity and in particular, hair promoting activity. The oligopeptides may be in monomer form, monomer having a reactive substance bound form or as a polymer, such as a dimer including a homodimer; heterodimer; homotrimer; or heterodimer. The present invention also provides monoclonal antibodies that specifically recognize a 220 kDa antigen of epithelial new hair follicles; hybridomas producing such antibody; and methods and kits for assaying hair growth in mammalian subjects.

Abstract: The present invention provides oligopeptides having morphogenesis promoting activity and in particular, hair promoting activity. The oligopeptides may be in monomer form, monomer having a reactive substance bound form or as a polymer, such as a dimer including a homodimer; heterodimer; homotrimer; or heterotrimer. The present invention also provides antibodies, such as polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies, or fragments thereof, that specifically recognize a 220 kDa antigen of epithelial new hair follicles; hybridomas producing such monoclonal antibodies; and methods and kits for assaying hair growth in mammalian subjects using such antibodies.

Abstract: The present invention provides oligopeptides having morphogenesis promoting activity and in particular, hair promoting activity. The oligopeptides may be in monomer form, monomer having a reactive substance bound form or as a polymer, such as a dimer including a homodimer; heterodimer; homotrimer; or heterodimer. The present invention also provides monoclonal antibodies that specifically recognize a 220 kDa antigen of epithelial new hair follicles; hybridomas producing such antibody; and methods and kits for assaying hair growth in mammalian subjects.

Abstract: A method for screening a substance having promoting activity on hair growth, which comprises the steps of bringing hair follicles in telogen into contact with a test substance, and judging that the substance tested is positive when the hair follicles in telogen are led to in anagen by the substance tested, wherein the judgment is carried out by detecting expression of Hacl-1 in the hair follicles.

Abstract: Novel physiologically active substance designated as epimorphin which is capable of being expressed by a gene hybridizing with a gene probe composed of the base sequence complementary to part of the base sequence of Sequence ID No. 1 in Sequence Listing, and which is produced by mesenchymal cells derived from human or mouse, and which shows morphogenetic activity of epithelial tissue, and isoforms of the epimorphin, base sequences encoding them, modified epimorphin, in which hydrophobic region at the carboxy terminal of the epimorphin polypeptide has been deleted or replaced by non-hydrophobic polypeptide, and polyclonal antibody or monoclonal antibody produced by the use of a full length or a part of the epimorphin as an antigen are provided. The substances of the present invention can be used for elucidation of the mechanism of diseases caused by abnormal epithelium formation, diagnosis of such diseases, or development of therapeutic methods therefor.

Abstract: Novel physiologically active substance designated as epimorphin which is capable of being expressed by a gene hybridizing with a gene probe composed of the base sequence complementary to part of the base sequence of Sequence ID No. 1 in Sequence Listing, and which is produced by mesenchymal cells derived from human or mouse, and which shows morphogenetic activity of epithelial tissue, and isoforms of said epimorphin, base sequences encoding them, modified epimorphin, in which hydrophobic region at the carboxy terminal of said epimorphin polypeptide has been deleted or replaced by non-hydrophobic polypeptide, and polyclonal antibody or monoclonal antibody produced by the use of a full length or a part of said epimorphin as an antigen are provided. The substances of the present invention can be used for elucidation of the mechanism of diseases caused by abnormal epithelium formation, diagnosis of said diseases, or development of therapeutic methods therefor.