Advances in Research for the Role of Keratinocyte Growth Factor

Keratinocyte growth factor(KGF, fibroblast growth factor-7(FGF-7) was first isolated from the conditioned medium of the human embryonic lung fibroblast cell line, which was purified as a monomeric polypeptide with an apparent molecular mass of26-28 kDa. KGF is a strong affinity for Heparin and mainly synthesized by mesenchymal cells. KGF receptor(KGFR), a member of the tyrosine kinase receptors family including FGFR1, FGFR2, FGFR3 and FGFR4, is encoded by IIIb variants of the BEK/FGFR2 gene(FGFR2b), which is expressed exclusively by various types of epithelial cells. it has been extensively proved that KGF exerts its biological functions through binding to its specific receptor KGFR, including stimulating gcell proliferation, migration, and differentiation in response to injury and tissue repair, especially also correlating with the development of the tumor.