KGF antibody

Keratinocyte Growth Factor (KGF, FGF7) was originally isolated from the conditioned medium of a human embryonic lung fibroblast cell line as a mitogen specific for epithelial cells. The transcript for KGF is detected in stromal but not epithelial cells. It has been suggested that KGF is a mesenchymal cell-derived paracrine growth factor that stimulates epithelial cell growth. The N-terminal residues (31 amino acid residues) of KGF are cleaved from the KGF precursor protein (194 amino acid residues) to generate the mature form of KGF (163 amino acid residues). Human KGF shows species cross-reactivity and is active on mouse, monkey, and porcine cells. Mature human and mouse FGF7 have 96% amino acid sequence identity, while human and rat FGF7 have 92% amino acid sequence identity. KGF is expressed in a number of stromal fibroblast cell lines but is absent from normal glial cells and epithelial cell lines. KGF released from stromal and dermal fibroblasts stimulates proliferation and differentiation keratinocytes and other cells in the epithelium. Adult cells known to express FGF7 include fibroblasts, smooth muscle cells, and ovarian theca cells. KGF is expressed at many stages of development throughout the mesenchyme.