Families
In humans, 22 members of the FGF family have been identified, all of which are structurally related signaling molecules:
- Members FGF1 through FGF10 all bind fibroblast growth factor receptors (FGFRs). FGF1 is also known as acidic, and FGF2 is also known as basic fibroblast growth factor.
- Members FGF11, FGF12, FGF13, and FGF14, also known as FGF homologous factors 1-4 (FHF1-FHF4), have been shown to have distinct functional differences compared to the FGFs. Although these factors possess remarkably similar sequence homology, they do not bind FGFRs and are involved in intracellular processes unrelated to the FGFs. This group is also known as "iFGF".
- Members FGF16 through FGF23 are newer and not as well characterized. FGF15 is the mouse ortholog of human FGF19 (hence there is no human FGF15).
- Human FGF20 was identified based on its homology to Xenopus FGF-20 (XFGF-20).
- In contrast to the local activity of the other FGFs, FGF15/FGF19, FGF21 and FGF23 have more systemic effects.
Read more about this topic: Fibroblast Growth Factor
Famous quotes containing the word families:
“We are born into them, marry into them, even create them among the people we love. They come large and extended...or small and nuclear. But whatever their size or wherever they live, strong families give us the nurturance and strength we need in order to survive.”
—Andrea Davis (20th century)
“Families have always been in flux and often in crisis; they have never lived up to nostalgic notions about “the way things used to be.” But that doesn’t mean the malaise and anxiety people feel about modern families are delusions, that everything would be fine if we would only realize that the past was not all it’s cracked up to be. . . . Even if things were not always right in families of the past, it seems clear that some things have newly gone wrong.”
—Stephanie Coontz (20th century)
“Peer pressure is not a monolithic force that presses adolescents into the same mold. . . . Adolescents generally choose friend whose values, attitudes, tastes, and families are similar to their own. In short, good kids rarely go bad because of their friends.”
—Laurence Steinberg (20th century)