Information about Growth Factors
The term growth factor refers to a naturally occurring protein capable of stimulating cellular proliferation and cellular differentiation. 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, bone morphogenic proteins stimulate bone cell differentiation, while vascular endothelial growth factors stimulate blood vessel differentiation.
While growth factor implies a positive effect on cell division, cytokine is a neutral term with respect to whether a molecule affects proliferation. In this sense, some cytokines can be growth factors, such as G-CSF and GM-CSF. However, some cytokines have an inhibitory effect on cell growth or proliferation. Yet others, such as Fas ligand are used as "death" signals; they cause target cells to undergo programmed cell death or apoptosis.
Several well known growth factors are:
In biochemistry, a receptor is a protein on the cell membrane or within the cytoplasm or cell nucleus that binds to a specific molecule (a ligand), such as a neurotransmitter, hormone, or other substance, and initiates
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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, bone morphogenic proteins stimulate bone cell differentiation, while vascular endothelial growth factors stimulate blood vessel differentiation.
Growth factors versus cytokines
Growth factor is sometimes used interchangeably among scientists with the term cytokine. Historically, cytokines were associated with hematopoietic (blood forming) cells and immune system cells (e.g., lymphocytes and tissue cells from spleen, thymus, and lymph nodes). For the circulatory system and bone marrow in which cells can occur in a liquid suspension and not bound up in solid tissue, it makes sense for them to communicate by soluble, circulating protein molecules. However, as different lines of research converged, it became clear that some of the same signaling proteins the hematopoietic and immune systems used were also being used by all sorts of other cells and tissues, during development and in the mature organism.While growth factor implies a positive effect on cell division, cytokine is a neutral term with respect to whether a molecule affects proliferation. In this sense, some cytokines can be growth factors, such as G-CSF and GM-CSF. However, some cytokines have an inhibitory effect on cell growth or proliferation. Yet others, such as Fas ligand are used as "death" signals; they cause target cells to undergo programmed cell death or apoptosis.
Example of growth factors
Individual growth factor proteins tend to occur as members of larger families of structurally and evolutionarily related proteins. There are dozens and dozens of growth factor families such as TGF-beta (transforming growth factor-beta), BMP (bone morphogenic protein), neurotrophins (NGF, BDNF, and NT3), fibroblast growth factor (FGF), and so on.Several well known growth factors are:
- Transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β)
- Granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF)
- Granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF)
- Nerve growth factor (NGF)
- Neurotrophins
- Platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)
- Erythropoietin (EPO)
- Thrombopoietin (TPO)
- Myostatin (GDF-8)
- Growth differentiation factor-9 (GDF9)
- Basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF or FGF2)
- Epidermal growth factor (EGF)
- Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF]
Uses in medicine
For the last two decades, growth factors have been increasingly used in the treatment of hematologic and oncologic diseases like:- neutropenia
- myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS)
- leukemias
- aplastic anaemia
- bone marrow transplantation
See also
- Signal transduction
- Receptor (biochemistry)
- Cytokine
- Angiogenesis
- Human Genome Organisation
- Growth factor receptor
External links
Animal intercellular signaling peptides and proteins | |
|---|---|
| Growth factors | Epidermal growth factor - Fibroblast growth factor (FGF2) - Nerve growth factor - Platelet-derived growth factor - Transforming growth factor (TGFα, TGFβ, TGFβ pathway) |
| Other | Hedgehog (Sonic hedgehog) - Integrin - JAK/STAT (JAK/STAT) - MAPK/ERK pathway (MAPK/ERK) - NF-kB - Notch (Notch 1, Notch 3) - p53 - Wnt (Frzb) |
Proteins are large organic compounds made of amino acids arranged in a linear chain and joined together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of adjacent amino acid residues.
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Cellular differentiation is a concept from developmental biology describing the process by which cells acquire a "type". The morphology of a cell may change dramatically during differentiation, but the genetic material remains the same, with few exceptions.
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Cytokines are a group of proteins and peptides that are used in organisms as signaling compounds. These chemical signals are similar to hormones and neurotransmitters and are used to allow one cell to communicate with another.
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hormone (from Greek όρμή - "to set in motion") is a chemical messenger that carries a signal from one cell (or group of cells) to another. All multicellular organisms produce hormones (including plants - see phytohormone).
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For other uses, see Receptor.
In biochemistry, a receptor is a protein on the cell membrane or within the cytoplasm or cell nucleus that binds to a specific molecule (a ligand), such as a neurotransmitter, hormone, or other substance, and initiates
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Bone Morphogenetic Proteins (BMPs) are a group of growth factors and cytokines known for their ability to induce the formation of bone and cartilage.
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Types
Originally, seven such proteins were discovered...... Click the link for more information.
Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is an important signaling protein involved in both vasculogenesis (the de novo formation of the embryonic circulatory system) and angiogenesis (the growth of blood vessels from pre-existing vasculature).
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Cytokines are a group of proteins and peptides that are used in organisms as signaling compounds. These chemical signals are similar to hormones and neurotransmitters and are used to allow one cell to communicate with another.
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Haematopoiesis (from Ancient Greek: haima blood; poiesis to make) (or hematopoiesis in the United States; sometimes also haemopoiesis or hemopoiesis) is the formation of blood cellular components.
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immune system is a collection of mechanisms within an organism that protects against disease by identifying and killing pathogens and tumor cells. It detects a wide variety of agents, from viruses to parasitic worms, and needs to distinguish them from the organism's own healthy
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The spleen is an organ located in the abdomen of the human body, where it functions in the destruction of old red blood cells and holding a small reservoir of blood. It is regarded as one of the centers of activity of the reticuloendothelial system (part of the immune system).
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thymus is an organ located in the upper anterior portion of the chest cavity just behind the sternum. Hormones produced by this organ stimulate the production of certain infection-fighting cells. It is of central importance in the maturation of T cells.
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Lymph nodes are components of the lymphatic system. They are sometimes informally called lymph glands but, as they do not secrete substances, such terminology is not entirely accurate. They are found mostly in the neck area.
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Circulatory System is a psychedelic rock musical ensemble formed by musician/painter Will Cullen Hart, and featuring Hannah Jones, Derek Almstead, Peter Erchick, John Fernandes, and Heather McIntosh.
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Bone marrow (or medulla ossea) is the soft tissue found in the hollow interior of bones. In adults, marrow in large bones produces new blood cells.
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Marrow types
There are two types of bone marrow: red marrow (also known as myeloid tissue) and..... Click the link for more information.
Biological tissue is a collection of interconnected cells that perform a similar function within an organism.
The study of tissue is known as histology, or, in connection with disease, histopathology.
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The study of tissue is known as histology, or, in connection with disease, histopathology.
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molecule is defined as a sufficiently stable electrically neutral group of at least two atoms in a definite arrangement held together by strong chemical bonds.[1][2] In organic chemistry and biochemistry, the term molecule
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immune system is a collection of mechanisms within an organism that protects against disease by identifying and killing pathogens and tumor cells. It detects a wide variety of agents, from viruses to parasitic worms, and needs to distinguish them from the organism's own healthy
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The Fas ligand or FasL is a type II transmembrane protein that belongs to the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) family. The binding of Fas ligand with its receptor induces apoptosis.
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Programmed cell-death (PCD) is the suicide of a cell in a multicellular organism. In contrast to necrosis, which is a form of cell-death that results from acute tissue injury and provokes an inflammatory response, PCD
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Apoptosis (pronounced ă-pŏp-tŏ’sĭs, apo tō' sis) is a form of programmed cell death in multicellular organisms. It is one of the main types of programmed cell death (PCD), and involves an orchestrated series of biochemical events leading to a
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Transforming growth factor (TGF) is used to describe two classes of polypeptide growth factors, TGFα and TGFβ.
The name "Transforming Growth Factor" is somewhat arbitrary, since the two classes of TGFs are not structurally or genetically related to one
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The name "Transforming Growth Factor" is somewhat arbitrary, since the two classes of TGFs are not structurally or genetically related to one
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Bone Morphogenetic Proteins (BMPs) are a group of growth factors and cytokines known for their ability to induce the formation of bone and cartilage.
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Types
Originally, seven such proteins were discovered...... Click the link for more information.
Neurotrophins, also called "neurotrophic factors", are a family of protein which induce the survival of neurons. They belong to a family of growth factors, secreted proteins usually found in the blood stream which are capable of signaling particular cells to survive, differentiate,
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Fibroblast growth factors, or FGFs, are a family of growth factors involved in wound healing and embryonic development. The FGFs are heparin-binding proteins and interactions with cell-surface associated heparan sulfate proteoglycans have been shown to be essential for FGF
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Transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) is a protein that comes in three isoforms called TGF-β1, TGF-β2 and TGF-β3; it was also the original name for the founding member of this family that is now called TGF-β1.
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Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor (G-CSF or GCSF) is a hormone. It is a glycoprotein, growth factor or cytokine produced by a number of different tissues to stimulate the bone marrow to produce granulocytes and stem cells.
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Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor (G-CSF or GCSF) is a hormone. It is a glycoprotein, growth factor or cytokine produced by a number of different tissues to stimulate the bone marrow to produce granulocytes and stem cells.
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