Human fibroblast growth factor-18 stimulates fibroblast cell proliferation and is mapped to chromosome 14p11.

Abstract

The fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) play crucial roles in controlling embryonic development, cell growth, morphogenesis, and tissue repair in animals. Furthermore, FGFs may have a role in angiogenesis and may be involved in tumor invasion and metastasis. Here, we present the cloning and sequence of human FGF-18, a novel member of the FGF family. Sequence comparison indicates that FGF-18 is conserved with the other FGFs and most homologous to FGF-8 among the FGF family members. We showed that human FGF-18 was expressed primarily in the heart, skeletal muscle, and pancreas, and at lower levels in the other tissues. FGF-18 was also expressed at low levels in certain cancer cell lines. FGF-18 contains a typical signal peptide and was secreted when it was transfected into mammalian cells. Recombinant FGF-18 protein stimulated proliferation in the fibroblast cell line NIH3T3 in a dose-dependent manner, suggesting that FGF-18 is a functional growth factor. Finally, the FGF-18 gene was evolutionarily conserved, and localized to human chromosome 14p11.

• Authors: M C Hu, Y P Wang, W R Qiu
• Journal: Oncogene (Oncogene) Vol. 18 Issue 16 Pg. 2635-42 (Apr 22 1999) ISSN: 0950-9232 [Print] England
• PMID: 10353607 (Publication Type: Comparative Study, Journal Article)

Chemical References

• Recombinant Proteins
• fibroblast growth factor 18
• Fibroblast Growth Factors

Topics

• Amino Acid Sequence
• Base Sequence
• Cell Division (drug effects)
• Chromosome Mapping
• Chromosomes, Human, Pair 14
• Cloning, Molecular
• Conserved Sequence
• Fibroblast Growth Factors (genetics, pharmacology)
• Fibroblasts (drug effects)
• Gene Dosage
• Humans
• Molecular Sequence Data
• Recombinant Proteins (pharmacology)
• Sequence Analysis, DNA
• Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
• Tissue Distribution