Transforming Growth Factor Alpha (TGFa)

Transforming growth factor (TGF) is used to describe two classes of polypeptide growth factors, TGFα and TGFβ.TGFα is produced in macrophages, brain cells, and keratinocytes, and induces epithelial development. It is closely related to EGF, and can also bind to the EGF receptor with similar effects . TGFα stimulates neural cell proliferation in the adult injured brain.TGFα was cited in the 2001 NIH Stem Cell report to the U.S. Congress as promising evidence for the ability of adult stem cells to restore function in neurodegenerative disorders.

TGF-alpha shows about 40% sequence homology with epidermal growth factor (EGF) and competes with EGF for binding to the EGF receptor, stimulating its phosphorylation and producing a mitogenic response.