To use all functions of this page, please activate cookies in your browser.
my.bionity.com
With an accout for my.bionity.com you can always see everything at a glance – and you can configure your own website and individual newsletter.
- My watch list
- My saved searches
- My saved topics
- My newsletter
Epidermal growth factor
Epidermal growth factor or EGF is a growth factor that plays an important role in the regulation of cell growth, proliferation, and differentiation. Human EGF is a 6045-Da protein with 53 amino acid residues and three intramolecular disulfide bonds.[1] Additional recommended knowledge
FunctionEGF acts by binding with high affinity to epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) on the cell surface and stimulating the intrinsic protein-tyrosine kinase activity of the receptor (see the second diagram). The tyrosine kinase activity, in turn, initiates a signal transduction cascade that results in a variety of biochemical changes within the cell - a rise in intracellular calcium levels, increased glycolysis and protein synthesis, and increases in the expression of certain genes including the gene for EGFR - that ultimately lead to DNA synthesis and cell proliferation.[2] EGF-familyEGF is the founding member of the EGF-family of proteins. Members of this protein family have highly similar structural and functional characteristics. Besides EGF itself other family members include:[3]
All family members contain one or more repeats of the conserved amino acid sequence: Where X represents any amino acid.[3] This sequence contains 6 cysteine residues that form three intramolecular disulphide bonds. Disulphide bond formation generates three structural loops that are essential for high-affinity binding between members of the EGF-family and their cell-surface receptors.[4] EGF as Therapeutic ProteinEGF is currently being marketed as a therapeutic protein for the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers by at least three companies. Bharat Biotech International, a company based in India, is marketing EGF as REGEN-D, Daewoong Pharmaceutical, based in South Korea, is marketing EGF as Easyef, and the Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, in Cuba, is marketing EGF as CITOPROT-P.[5] [6] EGF is also used in a burn treatment cream product, Hebermin, manufactured by Heber Biotec S. A. in Cuba.[6] References
Further reading
Categories: Genes on chromosome 4 | Human proteins | Cell signaling | Signal transduction | Growth factors | Morphogens |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Epidermal_growth_factor". A list of authors is available in Wikipedia. |