What does EGF mean in PHYSIOLOGY

What Is EGF

EGF is a protein that binds to certain receptors on the surfaces of cells. When bound to its receptor, it activates a signaling pathway inside the cell that leads to increased cell growth and proliferation. When this occurs in normal cells without any damage or mutations, it helps promote wound healing or tissue repair. However, when this signaling pathway occurs in mutated or damaged cells it can cause uncontrolled cell growth leading to development of tumors such as cancers.

EGF itself is actually made up of two peptide chains connected together. The two peptide chains are called epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and transforming growth factor alpha (TGF-α). These two proteins are responsible for activating the signaling pathways inside cells that lead to increased cell proliferation. While EGFR plays a major role in tumor development when mutated or damaged cells are involved, TGF-α also has a role in aiding immune responses and inflammation pathways too.

Role In Disease Treatment

The epidermal growth factor has several potential therapeutic applications for medical treatment of many different types of diseases including cancer, chronic inflammatory diseases such as Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, psoriasis and certain autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis and diabetes mellitus type I. For example, recombinant EGF has recently been approved for treatment of oral mucositis caused by chemotherapy drugs in patients with cancer because it was found to significantly reduce the symptoms associated with this condition. Additionally, recombinant EGF is also being looked at for treatment of numerous types of cancers because studies have suggested that it may be able to reduce tumor size due to its ability to disrupt the signaling pathways inside cancerous cells that lead to their uncontrolled proliferation and spread throughout the body (metastasis).