termsTerm
Growth factor
aka growth factors, growth-factor, growth-factors, epidermal growth factor, vascular endothelial growth factor
A protein released by one cell that tells nearby cells to grow, divide or survive. Cancers often make their own or become hypersensitive to it.
Growth factors are ligands for receptors on the cell surface; EGF, HER-family ligands, FGFs, IGF-1, HGF and VEGF each bind a specific receptor family and trigger the same core pathways (RAS-MAPK, PI3K-AKT). In normal tissue their supply is limited, which caps growth; a tumour that secretes its own growth factor or carries a receptor that fires without one has removed that cap. VEGF is the growth factor for blood vessels and the target of anti-angiogenic drugs, and TGF-beta is a growth factor that paradoxically restrains early tumours but helps late ones invade and hide from the immune system.
Category
Biology basics