Transforming growth factor

Transforming growth factor

Transforming growth factor is used to describe two classes of polypeptide growth factors, TGFα and TGFβ....

alpha (TGF-α) is upregulated in some human cancer

Cancer

Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...

s. It is produced in macrophage

Macrophage

Macrophages are cells produced by the differentiation of monocytes in tissues. Human macrophages are about in diameter. Monocytes and macrophages are phagocytes. Macrophages function in both non-specific defense as well as help initiate specific defense mechanisms of vertebrate animals...

s, brain cells, and keratinocyte

Keratinocyte

Keratinocytes are the predominant cell type in the epidermis, the outermost layer of the human skin, constituting 95% of the cells found there. Those keratinocytes found in the basal layer of the skin are sometimes referred to as "basal cells" or "basal keratinocytes"...

s, and induces epithelial

Epithelium

Epithelium is one of the four basic types of animal tissue, along with connective tissue, muscle tissue and nervous tissue. Epithelial tissues line the cavities and surfaces of structures throughout the body, and also form many glands. Functions of epithelial cells include secretion, selective...

 development. It is closely related to EGF

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 by binding to its receptor EGFR...

, and can also bind to the EGF receptor

Epidermal growth factor receptor

The epidermal growth factor receptor is the cell-surface receptor for members of the epidermal growth factor family of extracellular protein ligands...

 with similar effects . TGFα stimulates neural

Neuron

A neuron is an electrically excitable cell that processes and transmits information by electrical and chemical signaling. Chemical signaling occurs via synapses, specialized connections with other cells. Neurons connect to each other to form networks. Neurons are the core components of the nervous...

 cell proliferation

Cell growth

The term cell growth is used in the contexts of cell development and cell division . When used in the context of cell division, it refers to growth of cell populations, where one cell grows and divides to produce two "daughter cells"...

 in the adult

Adult

An adult is a human being or living organism that is of relatively mature age, typically associated with sexual maturity and the attainment of reproductive age....

 injured brain

Brain

The brain is the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals—only a few primitive invertebrates such as sponges, jellyfish, sea squirts and starfishes do not have one. It is located in the head, usually close to primary sensory apparatus such as vision, hearing,...

.

TGFα was cited in the 2001 NIH Stem Cell report to the U.S. Congress as promising evidence for the ability of adult stem cells to restore function in neurodegenerative disorders.

Interactions

TGF alpha has been shown to interact

Protein-protein interaction

Protein–protein interactions occur when two or more proteins bind together, often to carry out their biological function. Many of the most important molecular processes in the cell such as DNA replication are carried out by large molecular machines that are built from a large number of protein...

 with GORASP1

GORASP1

Golgi reassembly-stacking protein 1 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the GORASP1 gene.-Interactions:GORASP1 has been shown to interact with TGF alpha, TMED2 and GOLGA2.-Further reading:...

 and GORASP2

GORASP2

Golgi reassembly-stacking protein 2 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the GORASP2 gene.-Interactions:GORASP2 has been shown to interact with BLZF1, TGF alpha, TMED2 and GOLGA2.-Further reading:...

.

Further reading