Teratocarcinoma Derived Growth Factor 1 (TDGF1)

CRIPTO encoding a protein of 188 amino acids. The central portion of this protein shared structural similarities with the human transforming growth factor alpha and epidermal growth factor (EGF). Northern blot analysis of a wide variety of tumor and normal cell lines and tissues showed that CRIPTO transcripts are detected only in undifferentiated cells and disappear after cell differentiation induced by retinoic acid treatment.

Comparison of the human and mouse genes revealed a perfect conservation of the exon/intron structure of the region containing the EGF-like motif. In contrast, mouse exons 1 and 3 are shorter than the corresponding human exons. This difference results in a different N-terminus in the human and mouse proteins