Growth Factor

The Growth Factor network depicts the causal mechanisms of common extracellular growth factors involved in regulating lung cell proliferation, namely EGF, TGF-beta, VEGF, and FGF family members. The EGF family members EGF and TGF-alpha play critical roles in regulating the proliferation of airway epithelial cells through EGF receptor activation. FGF7 and FGF10, largely through activation of FGFR2 signaling, stimulate lung epithelial cell proliferation as well as regulate branching morphogenesis in the developing lung. VEGF, a key regulator of normal angiogenesis that is also involved in regulating proliferation of human fetal airway epithelial cells, was also included in the network. \nReviewed during Jamboree2014