Growth factor
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A growth factor is a naturally occurring substance capable of stimulating cell proliferation, wound healing, and occasionally cellular differentiation.[1] Usually it is a secreted protein or a steroid hormone. Growth factors are important for regulating a variety of cellular processes.
Growth factors typically act as signaling molecules between cells. Examples are cytokines and hormones that bind to specific receptors on the surface of their target cells.
They often promote cell differentiation and maturation, which varies between growth factors. For example,
Comparison to cytokines
Growth factor is sometimes used interchangeably among scientists with the term
While growth factor implies a positive effect on
The nerve growth factor (NGF) was first discovered by Rita Levi-Montalcini, which won her a Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
List of classes
Individual growth factor proteins tend to occur as members of larger families of structurally and evolutionarily related proteins. There are many families, some of which are listed below:
- Adrenomedullin (AM)
- Angiopoietin (Ang)
- Autocrine motility factor
- Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs)
- Ciliary neurotrophic factor family
- Ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF)
- Leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF)
- Interleukin-6(IL-6)
- Colony-stimulating factors
- Macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF)
- Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF)
- Granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor(GM-CSF)
- Epidermal growth factor (EGF)
- Ephrins
- Erythropoietin (EPO)
- Fibroblast growth factor (FGF)
- Fibroblast growth factor 1(FGF1)
- Fibroblast growth factor 2(FGF2)
- Fibroblast growth factor 3(FGF3)
- Fibroblast growth factor 4(FGF4)
- Fibroblast growth factor 5(FGF5)
- Fibroblast growth factor 6(FGF6)
- Fibroblast growth factor 7(FGF7)
- Fibroblast growth factor 8(FGF8)
- Fibroblast growth factor 9(FGF9)
- Fibroblast growth factor 10(FGF10)
- Fibroblast growth factor 11(FGF11)
- Fibroblast growth factor 12(FGF12)
- Fibroblast growth factor 13(FGF13)
- Fibroblast growth factor 14(FGF14)
- Fibroblast growth factor 15(FGF15)
- Fibroblast growth factor 16(FGF16)
- Fibroblast growth factor 17(FGF17)
- Fibroblast growth factor 18(FGF18)
- Fibroblast growth factor 19(FGF19)
- Fibroblast growth factor 20(FGF20)
- Fibroblast growth factor 21(FGF21)
- Fibroblast growth factor 22(FGF22)
- Fibroblast growth factor 23(FGF23)
- Foetal Bovine Somatotrophin (FBS)
- GDNF family of ligands
- Growth differentiation factor-9 (GDF9)
- Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF)
- Hepatoma-derived growth factor (HDGF)
- Insulin
- Insulin-like growth factors
- Insulin-like growth factor-1(IGF-1)
- Insulin-like growth factor-2(IGF-2)
- Interleukins
- IL-1- Cofactor for IL-3 and IL-6. Activates T cells.
- IL-2 – T-cell growth factor. Stimulates IL-1 synthesis. Activates B-cells and NK cells.
- IL-3 – Stimulates production of all non-lymphoid cells.
- IL-4 – Growth factor for activated B cells, resting T cells, and mast cells.
- IL-5 – Induces differentiation of activated B cells and eosinophils.
- IL-6 – Stimulates Ig synthesis. Growth factor for plasma cells.
- IL-7 – Growth factor for pre-B cells.
- Keratinocyte growth factor (KGF)
- Migration-stimulating factor(MSF)
- Macrophage-stimulating protein(MSP), also known as hepatocyte growth factor-like protein (HGFLP)
- Myostatin (GDF-8)
- Neuregulins
- Neuregulin 1 (NRG1)
- Neuregulin 2 (NRG2)
- Neuregulin 3 (NRG3)
- Neuregulin 4 (NRG4)
- Neurotrophins
- Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)
- Nerve growth factor (NGF)
- Neurotrophin-3 (NT-3)
- Neurotrophin-4 (NT-4)
- Placental growth factor (PGF)
- Platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)
- Renalase (RNLS) – Anti-apoptotic survival factor
- T-cell growth factor (TCGF)
- Thrombopoietin (TPO)
- Transforming growth factors
- Transforming growth factor alpha(TGF-α)
- Transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β)
- Tumor necrosis factor-alpha(TNF-α)
- Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)
In platelets
The
Uses in medicine
For the last two decades, growth factors have been increasingly used in the treatment of hematologic and oncologic diseases[4][5] and cardiovascular diseases[6][7] such as:
- skin wound healing and regeneration of other tissues such as bone (PDGF-BB)
- neutropenia
- myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS)
- leukemias
- aplastic anaemia
- bone marrow transplantation
- angiogenesis for cardiovascular diseases
See also
- Angiogenesis
- Bone growth factor
- Cytokine
- Growth factor receptor
- Human Genome Organisation
- Mitogen
- Neurotrophic factor
- Receptor (biochemistry)
- Signal transduction
- Wound healing § Overview of involved growth factors
References
- ^ "growth factor" at Dorland's Medical Dictionary
- PMID 26334535.
- ISBN 978-0-12-370585-3.
- PMID 7909429.
- PMID 1659742.
- PMID 26232236.
- PMID 28594443.
External links
- Growth+Factors at the U.S. National Library of Medicine Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
- FGF5 in Hair Tonic Products
- FGF1 in Cosmetic Products