Abstract
Epidermal Growth factor, also known as EGF is a naturally occurring stimulatory growth factor in the human body which plays a major role in cell proliferation, differentiation, and growth. The EGF belongs to the receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) family, and as such, is activated by binding to particular ligands. Once the EGF is activated they quickly become internalized to become early endosomes and eventually either sorted via endosomes–lysosomes for degradation or recycled via the plasma membrane, these mechanisms are believed to terminate the EGF actions. The EGF can be found in various resins throughout the body, including human platelets, plasma, urine, saliva, milk and macrophages. EGF has been also involved in promoting wound healing by stimulating epidermal and dermal repair, confirming that it is a powerful dose-dependent mitogen on the formation of granulation tissue. The development of new capillaries in tumours directly relate to the release of angiogenic factors related to EGF and its multitude of receptors. As such, the intensity of neovascularisation directly correlates with the development of metastasis and thus the number of EGF, EGFR and VEGF. Therefore, various current and developing drugs target these receptors in hoping to eventually find a cure for the EGF associated tumours such as lung and rectal cancers.
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Salajegheh, A. (2016). Epidermal Growth Factor. In: Angiogenesis in Health, Disease and Malignancy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28140-7_12
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28140-7_12
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