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Summary: 3731
Summary
Fibroblast growth factor (FGF) signalling has been implicated
during several phases of early embryogenesis, including the
patterning of the embryonic axes, the induction and/or
maintenance of several cell lineages and the coordination of
morphogenetic movements. Here, we summarise our current
understanding of the regulation and roles of FGF signalling
during early vertebrate development.
Key words: Fibroblast growth factor, Embryogenesis, Mesoderm,
Morphogenesis, Patterning, Stem cells
Introduction
The first fibroblast growth factor (FGF) ligands, FGF1 and FGF2,
were initially purified from brain as mitogenic factors of fibroblasts
grown in culture (Gospodarowicz and Moran, 1975). Since their
discovery, FGF ligands and their receptors have been implicated in
numerous biological processes (Table 1), and their dysregulation
causes several congenital diseases (such as dwarfism) and some
types of cancer (Table 2) (reviewed by Beenken and Mohammadi,
2009). In addition to their mitogenic capacity, FGFs can also
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